G O L D E N
by clover36
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is determined to make a name for himself without his family's dark reputation looming over him. However, when Scorpius discovers a dangerous family plot that threatens his new reputation, he is forced to decide where his loyalties lie: with his friends, or with the family name. R&R!
1. P R O L O G U E

Hello all, this is a fanfiction I've decided to create about Scorpius Malfoy. I'm putting a lot of work into this, so please, _please _**review!** Of course I would appreciate a follow or favorite as well, but I would hate to cancel this fic I've worked immensely hard on because it's getting no attention. I read through every review; even a quick review is appreciated!

Much thanks, Clover x

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**Prologue**

It was midnight. Heavy, dark clouds shrouded the sky; obscuring the moon and the stars. There was no source of light in the black, quiet night. Suddenly, there was a distant rumble, and rain exploded out of the somber clouds; the shower spilled onto the peaty grass and soft mud. The harsh rain whipped through the previously-quiet night as lightning flashed overhead.

A squelching sound signaled the approach of two figures; dressed in long, black, hooded cloaks, the duo sprinted through the night in an effort to escape from the pounding rain. The taller figure called to his shorter comrade; he pointed towards an uneven, dirt path that led into a dense woodland. The shorter man paused for a moment and then followed his taller friend into the thick trees.

The path winded through the forest; every now and then, the taller figure would have to crouch down to check if he was still following the path. The constant rain dripping from the trees concealed the sound of the two figures running through the forest; they were making quite a racket in their race for shelter.

Finally, the path ended and the two figures stopped. Ahead of them was a large, metal gate. Glancing at each other nervously, the two men exited the forest and approached the gate. A beautiful marble pathway was behind the gate; it led to a humongous, handsome manor. Only two windows were lit. Looking up at the gate, the taller man stepped forward and muttered, '_Alohomora_'. Nothing happened. Cursing, the man took a step back, glancing uncertainly at the roaring storm overhead.

"State your name and business," a soft, drawling voice called from the gate.

The tall man took an excited step forward and said in a heavy French accent, "Pierre Bardou from France and Timothy Kettering from the United States, we are here to speak with Mr. Lucius Malfoy at his request..." There was a moment's pause; suddenly, the gates flew open, inviting the two men in. Exchanging an apprehensive glance, the two figures streaked towards the house, pulling their hoods over their faces in an attempt to shield themselves from the rain.

They reached a large, ornate, beautiful wooden door. This time, the shorter man stepped forward and knocked on the beautiful golden knocker; it had two serpents coiling around it. The moment the shorter man took a step back, the doors swung open. A tall, mustached servant greeted them with a bow. "Welcome, Monsieur Bardou and Mr. Kettering. Please, follow me; Master Malfoy is waiting for you."

The two men took off their sopping clothes and gave them to another servant; then, they proceeded to follow the server who had greeted them into the house. The house was huge; the servant took them through at least ten rooms before they reached the sitting room. All of the previous rooms were beautifully decorated, but nothing matched the sitting room. It had a large, gorgeous fireplace that seemed to be crafted with marble. Surrounding the fireplace were big, velvet plush chairs. There was a handsome oak table in between the chairs and the fireplace.

As the two men walked closer, they noticed that one of the plush chairs was occupied by a pale, blonde man. The two men reached the plush chair and gave the man a respectful bow. The man nodded and stood up, shaking both of the men's hands and piercing them with his bright gray eyes. After they shook hands, the man invited them to sit. Moments later, three cups of tea magically appeared on the wooden table.

"Welcome to my manor, Monsieur Bardou - " He nodded to the taller man, " - and Mr. Kettering - " He nodded to the shorter man, " - we have much business to discuss," His gray eyes glimmered in the firelight. "Now, please; tell me about your missions. Did you manage to find what I asked you to find? Have you received word from other countries about this object I so desire?"

"Mr. Berliner was unable to find the Pebble at the Durmstrang Institute," reported Mr. Kettering in his light American accent. "And Mr. Simpson was unsuccessful in locating the Pebble at the Australian College of Magical Education. I, myself, could not find the Pebble at the Salem Witches' Institute or the Barcelona University of Magic. The Flying Academy in Canada did not have the Pebble, either."

Mr. Malfoy nodded; his eyes moved to Monsieur Bardou.

"Beauxbatons Academy does not have the stone," Monsieur Bardou said. "I 'ave searched in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy... everywhere in Europe besides Spain. Except for England, of course..."

Mr. Malfoy dipped his head. "Then there is only one other option," he murmured, looking uncertain. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That should be easy enough for me to acquire; I have a grandson attending the school, you know. But, I am still in need of your services..." His eyebrows raised. "As you know, it is tough building a foundation for our movement. Our groundbreaking magical research can only be complete if I can get my hands on the Pebble, which I will soon enough, if my hunch is correct. Also, we need international recognition. That is where you two come in...

"The Great Britain Ministry of Magic is uncorrupt mainly due to Minister Shacklebolt and the strength of the Auror Office under Mr. - " He paused for a moment; there was a flicker of anger in his eyes. " - _Potter_. However, I understand that the other European Ministries, such as the French, Spanish, and Italian Ministries, are starting to become 'corrupt'. Is this correct, Monsieur Bardou?"

Monsieur Bardou nodded. "I 'ave been able to convert many people to our idea, Mr. Malfoy. The Europeans are not big fans of Muggle-borns; we like the thought of being more powerful than such commoners."

"Good," Mr. Malfoy said. He turned to Mr. Kettering. "And your efforts?"

"Unsuccessful in Australia, Canada and America," reported Mr. Kettering. "It's all a melting pot over there, so none of the countries really mind if there's an excess of Muggle-borns or if wizards are having children with Muggles," Mr. Kettering curled his lip in obvious disgust. "I've managed to win over a few traditional thinkers like myself, but I think that the movement will need to take hold in Europe and Asia before we move to the Americas and Australia."

"Fair point," Mr. Malfoy nodded. "As you all know, I myself am not even the leader of the revolution; it is mainly taking hold in the country of Germany. I work closely with the leader, however; you can say that I'm the leader of the British branch. Anyway, I can't do much because I'm under house-arrest here, so I'll need your help to spread the word."

"And what do we get in return?" asked Bardou.

"Glory," grinned Mr. Malfoy. "Power. If we can find the Pebble, we can multiply your wizarding power tenfold! With this Pebble, we'll be able to discover _how _exactly Muggle-borns crop up and how we can stop them. With this Pebble, we will have the ability to store other wizards' powers and keep them! In short, men; with this power, we will completely _dominate _the entire wizarding world!"

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What exactly _is_ the 'movement'? Will Lucius ever acquire this dangerous 'Pebble'? Find out by reading the book ;) I'd love some follows, favorites and reviews; they really encourage me to keep writing! Thank you x


	2. O N E

**Chapter One: Silver and Gold**

Miles away, a young boy was propped up in his bed, poring through a large, new looking book. Brand-new books were piled all around him; some were open, while others looked like they hadn't been touched. Across his bed sat an open trunk; folded robes, clothes and even more books were piled inside of it. Next to the trunk was a cage that contained a great gray owl; its head was tucked into its wings. It appeared to be sleeping.

The room the boy was sitting in was humongous. Plush, velvet chairs were placed around a large fireplace; an extremely nice-looking wooden table sat in between the chairs and the fire. A polished wooden desk was placed along the wall. The desk had papers, books, and some photos strewn all over it. The walls of the room were painted hunter green; they were littered with photos of the boy's family and favorite Quidditch teams. The gray of the Falmouth Falcons and the yellow of the Whimbourne Wasps painfully clashed with the dark green walls, but the boy didn't seem to care about the eyesore of his walls.

There was a knock on the door, and the boy's gray eyes darted up from his book to see who was visiting him. The white door opened and a uniformed man entered, clutching a tray full of breakfast food. The boy smiled happily at the sight of the food and sat up straighter on his bed. "Hi, Freddie!" He greeted the server.

"Master Scorpius," Freddie said with a small bow. He placed the food on the polished wooden table to the side of Scorpius's king-sized bed. "Mr. Malfoy figured you'd be up all night reading your new books," Freddie smiled when he saw Scorpius's books piled all around him. "I see he was right. Do you need anything else, sir?"

"No thanks, Freddie," Scorpius said, digging into his food. "Actually, d'you happen to know the time?"

"About six thirty, sir," Freddie said. "Master Malfoy would like to leave at ten o'clock sharp. He'd like you downstairs by about nine thirty so we can gather all of your things together in the car. Do you need any assistance packing your belongings?"

"I'm good, thanks," Scorpius grinned through a pile of french toast. "I'd best pack my own things. But here, look!" Scorpius rolled over his bed and picked up a brand-new looking wand. "I taught myself a neat little spell. Look, _Lumos!_" The tip of Scorpius's wand lit up, and Scorpius smiled triumphantly.

"Very nice, Master Malfoy," Freddie said with a bow. "If that's all, I shall leave you to pack. If you need any assistance, please ask," With another bow, Freddie exited Scorpius's room.

It took Scorpius two hours to pack his belongings. It wasn't because he had so much stuff to pack; in reality, he was just procrastinating. He flipped through every book before he packed it, he tried on every robe, and he rolled up every poster carefully to make sure it wouldn't rip. The blonde-haired-boy placed pictures of him and his family in a small scrapbook and placed them on top of his clothes in his trunk. He pocketed his wand and placed his great-gray-owl, Apollo's, cage on top of his trunk. With a last glance around his room, Scorpius smiled slightly and wheeled his trunk and belongings out of the room.

His parents were having a cup of tea when he arrived downstairs. Immediately, servants surrounded him and took his belongings, hurriedly wheeling his trunk and cage outside into a Muggle car. Scorpius quietly murmured a thank-you to them and sat in the empty chair at the table his mother and father were sitting in. "Hi," he said cheerfully, smiling at his mother and father. Scorpius glanced up at the clock. It read nine-twenty-nine. He was a minute early.

His father ignored him, while his mother greeted him with a sad, "hello". There was an uncomfortable silence for the next few moments, and then Scorpius's father spoke. "So I was right, when I said you'd be up all night reading through your new schoolbooks?" Draco asked, a small smile curving his mouth.

Scorpius glanced up at his father. They were very similar looking; they both shared a pale, pointed face and pale gray eyes. Scorpius shared his father's bleach-blonde hair; however, his father's hair was now graying. He was wearing a buttoned-up jacket that accented his pointed chin.

"Yep," Scorpius said happily, pulling out his wand. It was ebony, twelve inches, with a phoenix feather core. "Look, Dad, _Lumos!_" The tip of his wand ignited in an orb of light, and Scorpius smiled again. "I mastered the wand movement and everything. I learned some other spells, but I'm not too sure of them yet. I don't want to jinx you or anything."

A shadow of a smile appeared on Malfoy's lips. "It's good you're practicing," he drawled. "I heard the Granger-Weasley girl - ah, Daisy, is it? - is very smart. You're to beat her in every test, Scorp. She has some _Weasley_ in her, so she shouldn't be as - ahem, - 'brilliant' as the Granger girl once was - "

"Draco," Scorpius's mother placed her hand on top of Draco, signaling for him to stop. "He's only eleven, don't turn him against his classmates already!"

"_Granger_," Scorpius mimicked his father's tone. "_Weasley_. _Potter_. You've told me to hate these kids before I've even met them! What if they're nothing like their parents? What - "

His father silenced him with a look. "Let's hope that they're something like their parents," Draco said, standing up and pushing in his chair. "So that they'll all stay in Gryffindor and leave you alone in Slytherin. Just don't go mixing with the wrong types of wizards, if you know what I mean." He glanced at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock. "Alright, Scorp, let's go."

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was one of the coolest things Scorpius had ever seen. It was a beautiful scarlet engine with soft, white smoke billowing out of it. Students, parents and even animals milled around him, saying their goodbyes and carrying their belongings onto the train. Once they reached the entrance to the train and Scorpius's things were put away into a compartment, he turned around to say good-bye to his parents. He saw that his father was looking intensely at something in the distance.

Eight figures were standing around each other, all talking animatedly. Scorpius recognized Harry Potter standing next to his red-haired wife, which was probably Ginny Weasley. Across from them stood Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger; Scorpius recognized them from Chocolate Frog cards.

Below the four parents stood four children. There was a boy and a girl, both who looked Scorpius's age. The girl had long, red hair and was being hugged by her mother, Hermione Granger. _Weasley. _The boy had black, messy hair and bright green eyes. _He looks like Harry Potter. That must be his son._ The other two looked a few years younger and were talking happily to each other, occasionally glancing at their older siblings.

"Are those the Weasleys and the Potters?" Scorpius asked, glancing up at his father.

"Yes," Draco said out of the corner of his mouth. "Oh, look; they're watching us. Ignore them, Scorpius." Scorpius's father gave the Potter and Weasley parents a curt nod. As Scorpius glanced over, he saw Ron Weasley muttering something to his daughter, who looked over at him uncertainly. _They're talking about me, _he realized with a jolt in his stomach. He wrenched his gaze away from the Potters and Weasleys and looked at his mother and father.

"I think it's time for me to go," Scorpius said, watching all of the kids board the train. Scorpius said his goodbyes to his mother and hugged his father goodbye.

There was a small pause after he hugged his father. "What if I'm not in Slytherin?" Scorpius blurted, glancing up at his dad. "What if I'm in Hufflepuff or something? Will you care?"

"If you're in Hufflepuff I'll have to disown you," Draco said with a cold smile. "I'm not joking. But to answer your question; of course I'd prefer you in Slytherin, but Ravenclaw isn't so bad. Gryffindor is..." he paused, looking thoughtful. "_bearable. _I just want you to be your own person at Hogwarts. Be the best you can be, Scorp; my father never gave me that chance."

"He didn't?" Scorpius had only seen his grandfather a few times; he was serving house arrest at the Malfoy Manor and Draco discouraged Scorpius from visiting him.

"No," Draco said curtly. "But that's another story. Just enjoy yourself at Hogwarts, all right?" He gave Scorpius a final hug and Scorpius skipped onto the train, waving out the window to his parents as the train sped out of King's Cross Station and into the countryside.

After a few minutes, Scorpius figured he ought to find a compartment. As he walked through the train, he noticed that they were all nearly full. The only semi-full one had the Potter boy and Weasley girl inside of it. Taking a deep breath, Scorpius closed his eyes and opened the compartment door. When he opened it, the Potter boy and Weasley girl were staring at him. "H-hi," he said, giving them a forced smile. "I'm Scorpius. D-d'you mind if I sit here? I have nowhere else to sit."

"Y-yeah, of course," the Potter boy said, moving over to give Scorpius a spot. Scorpius sat down and observed the two, who were still looking shocked at the fact that Scorpius Malfoy had entered their compartment. "So, what are your guys' names?" Scorpius asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

The Potter boy spoke first. "I'm Albus Potter, but everyone just calls me Al," His green eyes darted over to the Weasley girl, who was looking at Scorpius with wide blue eyes as if he was some sort of scary beast. "And this is Rose. Rose Weasley." There was a pause; clearly Albus Potter had no idea what to say next.

"Ah, cool," Scorpius said. _This is uncomfortable. I thought they'd be snobby prats considering their parents are the top Aurors and top Ministry officials. _"What Houses are you guys hoping to be Sorted in?"

Clearly that was the wrong question to ask. Albus and Rose exchanged nervous, apprehensive looks and glanced back at Scorpius. "G-Gryffindor I hope," Rose Weasley spoke for the first time, looking at her legs as if there was an interesting television program there. "I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad, though."

"Gryffindor," Albus said at once. "Even though my namesake was a Slytherin. I've heard that the Common Room is in the _dungeons_, under a _lake_! I don't know how Slytherins - " He glanced at Scorpius again, looking embarrassed. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I know your family was uh, Slytherins - "

"I'm not like my family," Scorpius said, immediately becoming defensive. Anger boiled in his throat; he couldn't stop words from spilling out. "Is that why you both are looking at me like I'm some sort of a disease? You think I'm a Death Eater spying on your family or something?" He stood up, opening the compartment door to leave. "I thought you were different than what my father said. I guess not." Rose and Albus were silent, looking awkward. Snorting in annoyance, Scorpius opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut.

Scorpius was storming as he walked around the train, trying to find another compartment. He was all the way at the end of the train when he found a compartment that was empty except for one person. Sighing, Scorpius opened the door and sat next to them. As he sat down, the figure opposite him gave a jerk and sat up. The kid was a boy about Scorpius's age; he had messy, sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes. Freckles dotted his face. "Sorry!" the boy said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I had no idea someone would come in this compartment. Who're you?"

"Scorpius," Scorpius answered, glad that someone didn't recognize him. Scorpius decided not to tell the boy his last name, just in case the boy recognized it. "What's your name?"

"Beckett. Beckett Fitzroy," Beckett said, sitting up in his chair. "I'm a Muggle-born, see, so I don't really know anyone around here. I'm going into my first year. Are you a Muggle-born, too?" He added hopefully.

"I'm a pureblood," Scorpius answered. Beckett's face immediately fell. Scorpius recovered quickly; he knew that purebloods were dwindling, and most wizards thought the purebloods remaining were highly biased towards their own blood status. Scorpius's family was definitely pro-pureblood; but Scorpius himself didn't really care about blood status. "But I respect Muggle-borns, don't worry. Have you been reading books about the Wizarding world and spells?"

"Yes," Beckett Fitzroy said, clearly relieved that Scorpius wasn't a pro-pureblood wizard. "I've read all of the books on spells and practiced them a bit. I've still got a lot to learn about your world, though. You can help me, right? You're a pure-blood so you've been in this world for ages and it's just so new for me."

"Of course," said Scorpius, glad to find a friend. "Ask away."

For the rest of the train ride, Scorpius told Beckett Fitzroy all about the wizarding world; he included Quidditch, the Ministry, the past of the Wizarding world, and even some facts about Hogwarts they learned. Since they were in the back of the train, the food trolly reached them last. Scorpius and Beckett both bought mounds of candy and shared them. By the time they reached the castle, it was nighttime and they were both starving.

"Elves take up our trunks and belongings to our dorms," explained Scorpius as Beckett and him exited the train. "I've already told you all about the Houses. They bring them up to your dorms in your House so you don't have to. It's quite nice. We used to have house-elves at our house until all of those rules were passed. We still have some, but we have to pay them now..."

Scorpius was interrupted by a gruff, older voice saying, "Firs' years to me, firs' years come over here..."

"C'mon," Beckett Fitzroy said, tugging Scorpius's sleeve as he pulled him over to the gigantic old man that was swinging a lantern and yelling, "Firs' years over here!"

Once a crowd of first years assimilated around the gigantic old man, the giant began to lead them down a trodden forest path towards a lake. "I'm Hagrid," Scorpius heard the man say to a first year who asked his name. "Ah, Albus Potter! And you mus' be Rose Weasley! O'course you heard abou' me, I'm Hagrid!" Scorpius was so annoyed he tuned out the rest of the conversation.

The first years arrived at the bank of a lake that had boats floating around it. The boats looked like they could fit about four people each and had lanterns attached to them. The first years climbed into the boats and set off for the castle. Scorpius was in a boat with Beckett and two other boys that introduced themselves as Marley Tasker and Baron Davies. The boats went through an undergrowth-tunnel and emerged onto a larger, darker section of the lake. Scorpius and the other first years gasped when they saw what was on top of the hill.

A humongous castle loomed over them in the lake; the windows littered over the stone-lined building glinted with candlelight as the first years approached the gigantic castle on their boats. Finally, the boats reached the shore and the first years piled out, looking at the magnificent castle with a mixture of wonder and apprehension.

"I heard you have to do some sort of test to get into your House," breathed Marley Tasker as the first years were led into the castle. "My brother, Trenton, said you'll have to do some sort of spell!"

"I don't think so," Baron Davies said, rolling his eyes. "We hardly even know any magic. That sounds more like an examination. Plus, that would take too long. My friend Peter Chang-Elliott said it's very quick and painless."

Scorpius felt relieved by Baron Davies's practical words, but was still a bit nervous. He never had bothered to ask how exactly one was to be Sorted; he had just assumed Hogwarts put you into a House based on who they thought you were. He was confident in his spell abilities if the first years _did _need to take some sort of test; he had read all of the books they were to study this year, after all.

A woman was waiting for them when they ascended a marble staircase. She was wearing robes with a blue-and-bronze eagle emblazoned on them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said in a light, happy tone. "My name is Professor Tate. In a few moments, you'll be led into the Great Hall where you will be Sorted into your House. There are four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your House is like your family; you will eat with each other, relax in the Common Room together, attend classes with each other, and cheer on the same Quidditch team," she cleared her throat. "Anyway, it is time to enter the Great Hall. If everyone could follow me, please..."

Professor Tate led them up another flight of stairs. They reached a set of magnificent, polished oak doors. Professor Tate swung them open and immediately Scorpius felt hundreds of eyes upon him. The Great Hall was huge; it had four tables, one for each House, and a large table for the staff that was perpendicular to the House tables at the front of the Hall. In front of the staff table sat an old, mangled hat on a stool. Scorpius felt his knees shaking. What was the hat for?

"That's the Sorting Hat," Scorpius heard Rose hiss to Albus. They were standing a few feet behind him. "James told me about it. Apparently you just put it on and it sorts you!"

_That sounds too easy, _Scorpius thought as the first years approached the Sorting Hat. _Shouldn't it be more difficult?_

A hush fell over the Hall as the first years surrounded the Sorting Hat. The Hat began to sing a song about the Houses, but Scorpius was too preoccupied at the hundreds of faces turned his way that he didn't quite listen. Finally, the song ended, and Scorpius saw Professor Tate bring out a long scroll. When the Great Hall was silent, she read, "Archer, Robert,"

A small, mousy-haired boy walked up to the Sorting Hat. Glancing at it nervously, he placed it upon his head. A few seconds passed and the Hat screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

There were jeers, yells and applause coming from the Slytherin table as Robert Archer joined the table. Scorpius noticed Robbie's knees were still shaking when he sat down.

"Boot, Katie!" read Professor Tate.

"GRYFFINDOR!" proclaimed the Hat.

The red and gold clad table erupted in cheers and applause. Scorpius noticed that the Gryffindors seemed much more encouraging and kind to Katie Boot than the Slytherins had to Robbie Archer. The Gryffindors patted each others backs and seemed warm to each other; like a family. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, Scorpius noticed that they were much more distant with each other. Scorpius frowned. Gryffindor looked much more friendly to him than Slytherin did...

The Sorting continued. "Davies, Baron!" was the first to become a Ravenclaw, and "Earl, Bobbi!" the first to become a Hufflepuff. After Bobbi Earl was greeted by her new Hufflepuff friends, a distinct Irish name was called. "Finnegan, Fergie!" Scorpius watched as the sandy-haired girl walked up to the Sorting Hat. The Hat sat on her head for almost five minutes until it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Finnegan, Flynn!" was then called. Fergie's sandy-haired twin had the same Hat experience she did; it sat on his head for a very long time before declaring Gryffindor. Fergie Finnegan greeted her brother happily, hugging him and introducing him to other Gryffindors she met while he was being Sorted. Scorpius felt a pang in his stomach. He had always wanted a sibling.

"Fitzroy, Beckett!" Scorpius watched as his friend walked up to the Hat. Beckett glanced at Scorpius before picking up the Hat. Scorpius gave him a thumbs up, and Beckett grinned. He placed the Hat on his head. After about thirty seconds, it declared, "RAVENCLAW!"

Scorpius smiled and cheered as his friend was announced to a House. Beckett waved to him as the Ravenclaws were clapping his back and introducing themselves. Scorpius was glad that Beckett was happy with his House. By now, Scorpius's stomach was doing backflips. He was so nervous. He loved Gryffindor's sense of family, but he also wanted to be in the same House as his friend. Also, what would his father say if he wasn't a Slytherin? _I'd prefer you were in Slytherin..._ the words rang in Scorpius's head.

Finally, after "Macnair, Damien!" was Sorted to Slytherin, he heard his name being called.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius walked up to the Sorting Hat. The Great Hall was quiet. Scorpius knew that they recognized his name; it was all over papers only a few years ago. His family used to be Death Eaters, and people hated him for that. _I wasn't even born then, _he thought angrily as he saw a few students glaring at him through narrowed eyes. _Why blame me for something I wasn't a part of?_

Scorpius picked up the Hat and placed it on his head. He flinched when the Hat began to speak; it was as if the voice was in his own head.

"Interesting..." the Hat said. "A Malfoy, then? I see you're related to the Blacks, an all-Slytherin family... the Malfoys are pure-Slytherins as well... of course, I would put you there but you seem much different from your family members... there's a desire to prove yourself, as well as a longing for friendship. I sense intelligence, but I'm not sure you would be suited in the Ravenclaw house... yet you want to prove you're different from your Slytherin family... well, I'll give you a chance, kid... GRYFFINDOR!"

Scorpius lifted the hat off of his head; he was absolutely shocked. He was deaf to the applause that greeted him; he slowly made his way over to the Gryffindor table, his ears ringing and his heart pounding. The Finnegan twins shook his hand and welcomed him, and other Gryffindors patted him on the back and told him how lucky he was to be in such a great House. It was all a blur to Scorpius. He remembered waving sadly to Beckett over at the Ravenclaw table as he sat down. He was dizzy with confusion and nervousness.

_Gryffindor house is... bearable... _He remembered his father saying with a pang. Would his father hate him? Would his family hate him? _You're trying to get away from that, _his conscience told him. _Remember what the Hat said? You want to prove you're different. This is your chance. Who cares what your father thinks?_

He was brought back to reality when Professor Tate called, "Potter, Albus!"

Whispers floated all around Scorpius; "Albus Potter? Harry's son?" "Yeah, that's my cousin..." "He looks just like Harry!" "Harry Potter's son..." A pool of jealousy and resentment formed in Scorpius's stomach. Albus _Potter_. So what if he was Harry's kid? Scorpius tried being friendly and Albus didn't even give him the chance. Albus Potter was a rival in Scorpius's eyes; just as Harry Potter was to Draco.

The Sorting Hat sat upon Albus Potter's head for quite a bit of time. Scorpius noticed that Albus seemed to be frowning and mouthing things. Finally, the Sorting Hat seemed to make a decision. It announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The roar of the Gryffindor table echoed throughout the entire Hall. Gryffindors were jumping around and patting Albus on the back. The Finnegan twins eagerly greeted Albus. Feeling like he had an obligation to be happy that the famous-Harry-Potter's son was in his House, Scorpius clapped half-heartedly.

Albus took the empty seat next to Scorpius. Immediately upon recognizing Scorpius, his green eyes widened and he looked almost guilty. "Y-you," Albus stammered as all of the hype died down. "Look, I'm really - "

"- Al," a dark-haired, tan boy interrupted. He towered over the two of them. The boy had brown eyes that were narrowed suspiciously at Scorpius. "You know what Dad said about the Malfoys. Don't talk to them." As Albus's brother said this, he shoved Scorpius to the ground. No one noticed because "Rowle, Thor" had just been Sorted to Slytherin.

"C'mon James, that really wasn't nice," Albus said as Scorpius recovered. Pushing himself off of the ground, Scorpius tossed a glare at Albus's brother and sat down next to the Finnegan twins, who were having an animated conversation with a ghost. "He's a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin. Maybe we should give him a second chance. Maybe he's not like his family..."

"His family still got away for being Death Eaters," snarled James, glaring at Scorpius. "They're a bunch of cowards. Malfoy probably bribed Hogwarts to put him in Gryffindor so he could spy on our family - "

" - You're being ridiculous," argued Albus as Warner, Rachel was sorted into Hufflepuff. "The Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor for a reason. How would you feel if someone bullied you on your first day?"

"I wouldn't feel that way," James growled, walking away from the end of the table as "Weasley, Rose" was announced. "because I wouldn't give people a reason to bully me. It's his problem that he's from a family of filthy cowards." James threw a final glare at Scorpius and stalked away towards the middle of the table.

Scorpius knew that Albus was about to apologize, but Rose Weasley had just been Sorted into Gryffindor and he was too busy congratulating her to pay attention to Scorpius. Rose Weasley was the last person to be Sorted, so immediately after that food appeared on the tables. Scorpius usually would have been amazed by the different types of meats, cheeses and breads piled on the table, but he was too preoccupied with his confrontation with James Potter. Scorpius thought that being in Gryffindor would change everything; he thought that people would accept him. But it seemed that being Sorted to Gryffindor just made his life even worse.

* * *

Really long chapter, sorry. Thank you for reading, I promise the others will be shorter. x


	3. T W O

**Chapter Two: History Twisted**

It was Scorpius's official first day of school. He had an awful night's sleep; when he arrived at the Common Room last night, Fred Weasley used him as a guinea pig for his father's newest products in front of the entire Gryffindor House. Scorpius went to bed with his thoughts swimming of revenge for Fred Weasley.

The morning after his mortifying moment, the only person who wanted to sit with Scorpius at breakfast was Flynn Finnegan. Flynn seemed like a good guy to Scorpius; Flynn said his father, Seamus, was good pals with Harry. At first this made Scorpius nervous, but Flynn told Scorpius that he didn't really care if Scorpius's father was a Death Eater, as long as Scorpius was an alright guy. Feeling immensely relieved, Scorpius walked to his first-ever Hogwarts class with Flynn and his twin, Fergie.

When he was with the jokey, cheerful twins, Scorpius found himself forgetting about the whole James, Albus and Fred fiasco. He was happy for once. At least, until he ran into James, Fred and another Weasley cousin in the corridor as Scorpius was on his way to Herbology.

"Malfoy," the blonde, freckled Weasley cousin hissed, shouldering Scorpius aside in the hall. Scorpius lost his balance and dropped all of his books. They landed with a clatter in the corridor; Scorpius felt at least thirty students' eyes on his back as he reached down to collect his books.

"Nice, Louis," Fred laughed, clapping his blonde cousin on the back. Scorpius shot a glare at the two Weasley cousins as Flynn and Fergie helped him pick up his books.

"Watch it, Malfoy," James whispered to Scorpius as Scorpius stood up, "you're lucky we're surrounded by prefects and teachers. One day you won't be so lucky." As James Potter said this, he pushed Scorpius again. This time, Scorpius fell into a crowd of Ravenclaws, all who glared at him as he muttered his apologies.

Scorpius felt his face grow hot as he heard the three Weasley cousins howling with laughter behind him. Ducking his head, Scorpius speed-walked through the corridor. He was so embarrassed. Why did the Weasleys hate him so much? Did Harry Potter tell them to make Draco Malfoy's son's life hell?

"What was that all about?" Flynn Finnegan asked in his distinct Irish accent as he caught up to Scorpius. "Why were all of those kids pushing you around?"

"They hate me for some reason," muttered Scorpius, glancing back to make sure the Weasley cousins weren't following him. "I dunno what I ever did to them; I think they don't like me because of my father and grandfather."

"You're a Gryffindor," Fergie said. "You said your family was all Slytherins. That must mean you're much different than them, right?"

"Yeah, you don't seem like a twisted Death Eater to me," Flynn added helpfully.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, smiling a little as the greenhouses loomed in sight. "I just wish everyone else thought that way, too."

"Don't worry," said Flynn, giving Scorpius a comforting pat on the back. "They'll come around. You have a whole year to convince them otherwise."

At this point, they had reached the greenhouses. A whole crowd of first-years was gathered around the entrance, craning their necks around other students to see what the hold-up was. Scorpius saw Beckett Fitzroy speaking to a crowd of Ravenclaws by the door. Scorpius guessed that they had this class with the Ravenclaws; he looked around and saw a mass of red, gold, blue and bronze. Upon catching Scorpius's eye, Beckett waved hello and walked over to talk to Scorpius.

"Hey!" Beckett said happily. He glanced around at Flynn and Fergie and introduced himself. "I'm Beckett. So Scorpius, how's Gryffindor?" He didn't give Scorpius a chance to answer. "Ravenclaw is great! I have a bunch of new friends, and I see you do, too. It's cool we have Herbology together, apparently Professor Longbottom's out at the moment so we're all just waiting here..."

His speech was interrupted by a tall, round-faced man who was walking quickly yet somewhat clumsily towards the greenhouses. Scorpius recognized Professor Longbottom; he was the Head of Gryffindor house. Scorpius somewhat remembered Professor Longbottom introducing himself to the Gryffindor first years last night, but Scorpius's head was still crammed with thoughts of the Weasleys and the Potters, so he didn't really recall the introduction.

"Sorry I'm late," Professor Longbottom panted; the crowd parted so that he could have a clear path to the door of the greenhouse. "Just had a few things to sort out - " He opened the door and the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws shuffled in after him.

Scorpius wasn't sure he really liked the greenhouse. It had a stuffy, humid feeling about it, and Scorpius wasn't a fan of the moving, creepy plants that surrounded him. Scorpius, Flynn and Fergie all shuffled towards the end of the large, square table in the center of the greenhouse. There were pots of strange, spiky plants in front of them.

Professor Longbottom quieted the class as he began to speak. "Hello," he said warmly, staring around the table. "Welcome to your first class at Hogwarts. I'm Professor Longbottom, and I'm the Herbology professor. Herbology is quite boring and tedious your first year, I do admit; however, there is a period of time where you get to burn plants, which is interesting. But your first year is mostly learning the properties about magical plants."

He motioned to the spiky plants on the table. "This plant is called an Albanian Spike plant. It's not poisonous, but you won't be happy if you cut your hand on one of those spikes. Your job today is simple: sketch the plant and use your books to identify the parts and properties of the plant. I'll walk around and observe your sketches..."

Scorpius, Fergie and Flynn each shared an Albanian Spike plant and began to sketch. Scorpius noticed that Fergie was quite good at drawing; Scorpius himself was struggling with the project. His sketch was alright, but not as perfect as he wanted it. Right as he was labeling the parts of the Albanian Spike, he felt a presence behind him.

"Hello," Professor Longbottom said cheerfully. "Your drawing's coming along well; the parts are labeled perfectly. Nice job! May I ask your name?"

Scorpius glowed with pride at the Professor's praise. He was so happy that he was doing well in the class that he didn't quite think about what he said next. "I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy."

Professor Longbottom's previously cheerful expression quickly assumed the look of a person who had just seen a ghost. His voice turned into a scared, worried stutter. "M-Malfoy? You look just like Draco, why didn't I...?"

Scorpius almost slapped himself in the face. How could he be so _stupid_? Everyone knew that Professor Longbottom was very good friends with Harry Potter; what was going through his head when he told Professor Longbottom his surname? _He would've asked anyway, _figured Scorpius.

"Uh, yes, sir," the pride in Scorpius's voice had completely vanished; it was replaced with embarrassment. "Yes, Draco's my dad," Scorpius's embarrassment faded and he set his jaw. He blurted, "I'm a Gryffindor though, sir."

Professor Longbottom only looked slightly relieved. He was still looking at Scorpius as if he was someone that had come back from the dead. "Yes, of course," he said absently, turning away. "Gryffindor... Malfoy's son... Merlin's pants, Malfoy's _son_..." Scorpius ducked his head with shame as the Professor walked away.

"It's no wonder he hates Malfoy," Scorpius heard Albus's snarky voice from a few seats away, "Malfoy's great-aunt tortured his parents into insanity. You know, Rose, that Bellatrix woman my dad once told us about. And, Malfoy's father was awful to Professor Longbottom at school. He was always jinxing him and everything..."

Scorpius couldn't bear to hear anymore. His ears were burning; not only because of Potter's arrogance (_he called me by my surname, has he no respect?_), but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it true? Did one of Scorpius's relatives really torture Professor Longbottom's parents into insanity? Scorpius felt so ashamed he could hardly respond to Flynn and Fergie's comforting words. _  
_

When Scorpius exited the class, he was still fuming. Flynn and Fergie had forgotten their Potions books at the Common Room, so they said a quick good-bye to Scorpius as they ran back to retrieve them.

For the rest of the day, Scorpius felt crushed. His classes were so interesting; however, his mind was too crammed with thoughts of never belonging that he never really got a chance to absorb the material. He found Transfiguration and Charms the most intriguing out of them all. Only he and Rose Weasley were able to conjure the Light Charm (_Lumos!_) during Charms, which gave him an angry glare from Potter and a clap on the back from Professor Merrick.

The next day, the first years were to learn how to fly a broomstick. Scorpius was pretty accomplished with his Firebolt IV; the best broom in the market. From the time he turned seven, his father had brought over numerous coaches (all International; none of the subpar club coaches would suffice) to teach Scorpius how to play the game and be the best. Scorpius had played for many youth leagues and was always the star Chaser and MVP for each one. Scorpius was sad that he wasn't able to tryout for Gryffindor's team next year; however, he made it a personal goal to make the team for next year. His coach, Janice Aerpuff (the coach of the British International team), had already devised a summer program for him.

He made his way to the lesson accompanied by Flynn Finnegan. Flynn was an avid supporter of the Irish International team, and was raving about their victory in the previous year's Quidditch Cup the entire way to the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius, who was partial to the British team, was trying not to argue with Flynn. The Britain team was the team that lost to Ireland last year. Scorpius was sitting with the British Prime Minister and the Irish Governor at the Top Box at the time; to say it was a tough night would be an understatement.

The Gryffindors arrived at the Quidditch pitch to find the Gryffindor Quidditch team themselves waiting for them. Scorpius felt a pang in his stomach when he saw Fred Weasley and James Potter; they were clad in maroon Quidditch robes and were carrying bats. _Great, Beaters. _Their grins widened when they saw Scorpius. James swung his bat and winked.

"Hello," a broad-shouldered seventh-year greeted them. There was a golden C emblazoned on his robes; Scorpius deduced that this was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. "My name's Tiger Oaks. I'm the Gryffindor Captain and Chaser. This is our team so far..." Oaks motioned to the five people standing behind him. "We've got James Potter and Fred Weasley as our Beaters, Sam Spikes as our Keeper, Peter Spence as our Seeker, and Jane Thomas and I are the Chasers. We're holding tryouts for a new Chaser next week, so hopefully you all will be able to meet him or her when they join the team."

Oaks proceeded to teach the Gryffindors how to mount their brooms. They were given crappy, old brooms that Scorpius despised. His Firebolt IV was so much better; it was the best broom in the game, after all. When Oaks gave the signal, all of the Gryffindors stomped to the ground to start their brooms. Scorpius flew up right away, and Albus was only a moment behind him.

"Impressive," Oaks walked over to Scorpius as Scorpius landed smoothly, "What's your name?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius said, a grin curling the end of his mouth when he saw Albus Potter fuming.

"You've play Quidditch before, Scorpius?"

"Yeah," Scorpius bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing at Albus's indignant expression. "Chaser, actually."

"Any youth teams?" Oaks asked as the rest of the Gryffindors struggled to fly up on their brooms.

"British Youth All-Stars last year," Scorpius boasted. The British Youth All-Stars traveled all around the globe, playing All-Star teams from different countries. It was a high honor to be invited; Scorpius didn't mention that his private Quidditch tutor, Janice Aerpuff, was the sponsor of the team. Janice Aerpuff's connections were probably the only reason why Scorpius made the team, but Oaks didn't need to know that.

"Huh," Oaks looked very impressed; he exchanged a surprised glance with Jane Thomas. "I used to be on that team myself. I know Janice Aerpuff personally. I'll be watching you play, Scorpius." They shook hands and Tiger Oaks strode off to check the progress of other Gryffindors.

After most of the Gryffindors managed to hover a few inches on their brooms, they were split up into stations based on their desired positions. Scorpius saw a fuming Albus stalk over to the Seeker station, while he made his way to the Chaser section with Fergie Finnegan, who was raving about Tiger Oaks.

"I'm sure he'll be on the British National team two years after he graduates," she predicted as they got in line for a Quaffle-passing drill. "He's so good. Did you just see his demo? The Quaffle is like a blur when he passes it."

"Yeah," Scorpius said. Oaks was a very impressive player; Scorpius had no doubt he would be on the British national team in a few years. Scorpius wished he could be on the same team as Oaks for a year, just to experience for himself how well Oaks played and to improve his Quidditch over the year instead of just practicing over the summer. Janice Aerpuff would be really impressed even if he made the team his second year.

The station was basic Quaffle passing while flying on a broomstick; Scorpius had mastered this stuff when he was eight years old; he had to stop himself from laughing at the people who were unable to even handle the Quaffle on a broomstick. Next, they moved onto goal scoring. Again, Scorpius had already gone through this sort of drill three years ago. He felt Oaks' eyes constantly on him and glowed whenever Oaks praised Scorpius's skill.

"Wow, Scorpius!" Fergie said when the lesson was finished. All of the Gryffindors were putting their broomsticks away and walking back towards the castle. "You're very good! I wouldn't be surprised if you made the team next year."

"Thanks," grinned Scorpius. Albus stormed past him, kicking a stray blade of grass in anger. Rose trailed behind him, casting a worried and accusatory glance back at Scorpius. Scorpius's cheerful mood elated at Albus's mutinous expression. He turned to continue his conversation with Fergie when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Scorpius?" Tiger Oaks was towering over Scorpius. "Can I have a quick word?"

Fergie gave him a slight push, signaling Scorpius to go. Scorpius grinned cockily back at her and walked towards Oaks. "What's up, Tiger?"

"Look, I'm really impressed with your skills," Tiger Oaks said. "But I haven't seen any other Chasers try out yet. Plus, you're only a first year. You had great chemistry on the field with Jane and I, and I think you'd make a great addition... but again, you're very small."

_What are you trying to say? _Scorpius was confused. _I'm too small? Is that what you're here to tell me?_

"I'm not sure if we can allow a first year to join our team," Oaks continued. "I'll have to talk to Professor Longbottom about it - " _Great, he hates me... _"- and the rest of the team - " _That's awesome, James and Fred would love to have me as a teammate... _" - but I'd like you to come to tryouts next week. I remember last years' tryouts; Gryffindor is highly lacking in Quidditch talent lately. We haven't won the Quidditch Cup in fifteen years, so we're going to need all the talent we can get."

Scorpius was completely speechless. _Him_, a first year, was being asked to tryout? He expected to make the team his second year... but the first year? Did Gryffindor _really _stink that much? "I-I... I mean, sure," Scorpius blurted. "Yeah, I'll, uh, come to tryouts if it's alright with everyone?"

"Great!" Oaks exclaimed, beaming at Scorpius. "I trust you'll have your broomstick delivered by then?"

"Of course," Scorpius was grinning. He decided to hold back the fact that he owned a Firebolt IV.

"I'll give you the date and time if everyone approves," Oaks said, turning to make his way back to the Quidditch pitch. "Most of them were impressed by your flying today, and Professor Longbottom shouldn't be too hard to convince. I hope to see you later, Scorpius."

Scorpius strutted back to the castle, a sly smile planted on his face. _I can't wait to tell Potter, _he thought. _I might just be the youngest Quidditch player at Hogwarts since his father was a first-year!_

* * *

Not sure if anyone is reading this, but if you are I'd love if you could take a few seconds to type up a quick review. It's all I really get from writing this, I'd really love to know what you guys think.

Also, sorry the first few chapters have been a bit slow, sorry. The plot will definitely kick in next chapter. Much thanks for reading... x


	4. T H R E E

**Chapter Three: Like Father, Like Son**

The next day, as Scorpius was on his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, he was approached by Jane Thomas. She was a tall, black girl with light eyes and an athletic build. "Scorpius," she said, giving him a small smile. "Oaks is busy, but the whole team approves of your tryout. James, Fred and Professor Longbottom were a little hesitant - " _Of course... _" - but we've all agreed to let you tryout. The tryout's on Saturday at two o'clock."

"Great," grinned Scorpius. "My broom should be here tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Jane Thomas said, beginning to walk away. "See you Wednesday."

"Yeah," said Scorpius, turning around to make his way towards the Great Hall. As he spun around, he felt an arm hook under each of his armpits. The two people that had grabbed Scorpius began to drag him away from the Great Hall and towards the end of the corridor. Scorpius sputtered in surprise, but a kick in the shin shut his mouth.

"Hello, there," a sly, grinning voice said on the left of Scorpius. Scorpius looked up to see the dark-skinned, light-eyed figure of Fred Weasley. His curly dark brown hair matched the person on Scorpius's right; James Potter. The two cousins slammed Scorpius into a wall at the end of the corridor, laughing hysterically as Scorpius fell to the ground.

Scorpius pushed himself up, scowling, and narrowed his eyes at the two cousins. "Where's your blonde friend?" he growled, his eyes flickering around for Louis Weasley.

"You're our blonde friend, mate," grinned James, his wand pointed at Scorpius.

"I think he's talking about Louis," Fred said, glancing at James.

"Oh, Lewie," James shrugged. "Dunno. Probably at those Quidditch commentator tryouts that are happening this morning."

"Speaking of Quidditch..." Fred's smile widened.

"... we received word you're trying out," James's eyes narrowed; he suddenly looked absolutely menacing. The gloating glimmer in his eyes had died. Refusing to back down to a bunch of Weasleys, Scorpius brushed the dust of his chest and drew his wand, pointing them in turn to both Weasley cousins. To his dismay, the Weasleys exchanged looks and laughed.

"Ickle firstie drawing his wand," crowed Fred, doubling over in laughter. "I'm so scared, James!"

"What's the worst spell you can do, lumos?" James snickered, grinning at his cousin.

Scorpius scrunched up his nose and sneered. "Why are you torturing me, anyway?" he snarled, his eyes glaring. "What'd I ever do to you?"

Fred and James both glanced uncertainly at each other. James curled his lip. "It's just the fact that you exist, to be honest," he said.

"A _Malfoy _who thinks he can try out for _our_ Quidditch team," Fred added with a sneer. "A stinking _pureblood_ who thinks he's top of the world."

"When did I ever say that?" challenged Scorpius, staggering towards Fred. "And since when is it _your _Quidditch team? Last time I checked, you're a bunch of third-years, which means that it's probably your first year on the team. Or you're second, if you're any good, which I doubt..."

"Shut up!" yelled James, pointing his wand menacingly at Scorpius and striding towards him. "For your information, _Malfoy_, it's our second year on the team - "

"- Gryffindor must have a _really _bad Quidditch team if they're accepting monkeys like you two - " sputtered Scorpius as Fred shot forward and shoved him into the wall. Scorpius fell with a thud and scrambled up, trying to fight off the Weasley cousins, but they were too strong.

James stepped forward, taking the scruff of Scorpius's shirt and lifting him up with it; Scorpius was now pinned to the wall, his legs flying around as he tried to shake off James's grip. "Funny how you're smashing our team when you're about to try out for it," James hissed to Scorpius. "Typical Malfoy, smart-mouthing everyone - "

" - James?" a surprised, feminine voice gasped from behind James. "James Potter, what are you _doing_?"

James dropped Scorpius and Scorpius landed hard against the cold stone floor; his head fell at an awkward angle as a small trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. Scorpius realized that he had bit his tongue. Pursing his lips in determination, Scorpius once again lifted himself from off of the ground and blinked his eyes open to see his savior.

"_Why _are you torturing a first year?" a tall, freckled, red-haired girl was towering over James; her was face flushed in anger. The red, angry blotches on her face matched the color of her hair. There was a "H" emblazoned on her chest; it was the Hogwarts crest. Scorpius recognized the sign immediately; this was the Head Girl. Judging her uniform, she was a Gryffindor.

"I, uh - " James stammered, looking over to his cousin, Fred, who shrugged. "It's a _Malfoy_, Lucy, that Malfoy kid Uncle Ron told you about, remember? The one who was always torturing him - "

" - It doesn't _matter_ who it is, why are you attacking a member of your own House?" Lucy rolled her eyes; she looked exasperated. Scorpius had the impression that this wasn't the first time she had reprimanded the cousins. "Honestly, James, I'm about to give you a detention. This behavior is absolutely uncalled for - "

" - James? Fred?" another female voice entered the corridor; this voice, however, was more high-pitched and squeaky. "What's going on?"

Scorpius's heart sank when he saw Albus's distinct messy, black hair appear from behind Lucy Weasley. _Great, more Weasleys!_ His green eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Scorpius, and he set his jaw in an attempt to look more intimidating. Albus, however, was not the speaker; Rose Weasley emerged from behind Albus, her red hair the same shade as her cousin's.

"Do we really have to explain it again?" Fred asked, sighing in annoyance. "Look, Lucy; this kid's an annoying git and we were just putting him in his place. That's the truth, all right? Now, if we leave quietly, you won't give us a detention, right? Except for that scrawny idiot over there..." He cast a mutinous glare at Scorpius.

"He deserves it," piped up Albus, stepping forward so that he was next to James. Green eyes met gray; both Albus and Scorpius were glaring at each other with utmost loathing. "Scorpius _Malfoy_, perfect little Quidditch player and a star student. Too bad he has a nasty personality to match - "

" - Albus, _stop_," Rose said, grabbing Albus's elbow and pulling him back. "What has gotten into you lately? You're just stooping to his level - "

" - Looks aren't quite fortunate, either," interrupted James, smirking at Scorpius, whose ears were turning red. "Pale face, pale hair, pale eyes, pointy chin, kind of resembles a ferret..."

Scorpius couldn't stop himself. Before he knew it, he had flown at James, his fists hitting any part of James Potter he came into contact with. He felt himself being pummeled as Albus and Fred descended on him; Lucy and Rose were yelling at them all to stop in the background.

"Stop!" He felt someone pull him away from the fight. Scorpius staggered backwards; his nose, ear and cheek were all stinging. He observed the fight and saw that James had a cut lip, Albus's eye was bruising, and Fred looked like he had been clubbed hard in the face. Scorpius smirked in smug satisfaction; he had given them all of those wounds.

"I, being Head Girl, should report you - yes, Fred, _all _of you - to Professor Longbottom," announced Lucy. She was fuming; it looked as if she was the one that had pulled James and Fred away from the frenzy. Glancing behind him, Scorpius noticed that Rose Weasley was the person who had tugged him away from the fight. She was now tending to Albus, who was glaring at Scorpius with an angry, green eye; to Scorpius's satisfaction, Albus's other eye was bruised shut.

After about a minute, Scorpius realized he was sick of Lucy Weasley ranting at him. He was tired, he wanted breakfast, and he had Potions class in about thirty minutes. Ignoring Lucy and Rose's indignant yells when he began to storm away, Scorpius stalked down the corridor, refusing to look back at the angry Weasley pack behind him. He was absolutely sick of the cocky, arrogant Weasleys and their hatred for him. Scorpius was at the point where he wished he was a Slytherin; what was the point of being a Gryffindor if it just made everyone hate him even more than if he was a Slytherin?

* * *

A whistle blew, tearing through Scorpius's ears as it brought him back to reality. It was Saturday, two o'clock; the Quidditch tryout for the Chaser position was starting. As Scorpius flew up on his broom, two figures zoomed beside him. Glancing to his sides, Scorpius saw James and Fred bumping into him from their brooms.

They were extremely angry at Scorpius, even more angry than usual, because Scorpius had earned them, Rose and Albus (Lucy convinced Professor Longbottom that she herself had broken up the fight and had taken no part in the brawling; Rose was furious at her for throwing her under the broom) detentions on Halloween night in the Dark Forest. Scorpius was fuming about the fact that he had to waste his Halloween in the Dark Forest with the Weasley cousins.

"Good luck, Malfoy," James hissed in his right ear.

"Let's hope you break a leg," snarled Fred to his left.

"Literally," growled James. The two cousins took off away from Scorpius; Scorpius was distracted by their hatred for a moment before realizing that he was at the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts, and he the fact that he was a first-year. He really had to prove himself.

Turning his broom around, Scorpius listened to Oaks's instructions to the Gryffindor team. The four Chasers selected for tryouts would each play in a scrimmage against the two Chasers on the Quidditch team. The Chasers would each switch turns being on Jane and Tiger's team to see the chemistry between the three.

The other three Chasers sneered at Scorpius as he took his place next to them. Scorpius knew they hated him; thankfully, not for his last name, but because of the fact that he was a first-year and at their tryout. Scorpius squared his shoulders. If they wanted to be jealous that a first-year had shown them up; fine. Scorpius would prove that he was the best.

"Alright!" announced Oaks, his voice almost drowning in the fierce, whipping autumn wind. "You know the drill. We're playing a scrimmage simulation here; you'll have our Beaters hitting Bludgers at you - " _I wonder who they're going to aim for... _" - and a Keeper attempting to save your goals. You'll take turns being on our team to see how we work with each other. When each of you has taken a turn passing around with us, we'll end the tryout and you'll know the results by tomorrow," Oaks surveyed the four Chasers, his eyes narrowed. "Thomson, you first."

A large, broad-shouldered beast flew on his broomstick towards Jane Thomas and Oaks. Scorpius laughed at Thomson's appearance; he resembled a gorilla on a broomstick. Scorpius's eyes glanced down to Thomson's broomstick. It was a Nimbus 300. He stifled a snort; how were those even allowed to be on the market anymore? Nimbuses were so slow. Scorpius spun around on his broomstick, showing off his Firebolt IV off to everyone who would look. The only other Gryffindor Quidditch member who owned a Firebolt was Oaks, and it was a crappy Firebolt II.

Oaks's whistle once again threw Scorpius back into reality. The Quaffle was released, and Oaks immediately shot forward. Jane branched to his right wing, like she was supposed to, but Thomson ducked below Oaks and flew back to the goalposts in an effort to defend. Scorpius almost laughed. Even a _baby_ knew that the left Chaser was supposed to fly to the left wing when the center Chaser got the Quaffle.

Scorpius didn't have time to think about that, though; Oaks was shooting straight towards him. Scorpius traced Oaks's eyes with his own and realized that Oaks was going to try to dodge him. Faking Oaks out, Scorpius feinted left and veered right, crashing right into the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Surprised, Tiger Oaks fumbled the Quaffle. Scorpius grabbed the Quaffle in Oaks's moment of hesitation and sped towards the opposite goalposts, where Spikes, the Keeper, was waiting for him.

Scorpius heard a whizzing by his left ear; a Bludger. He did a barrel-roll on his broom, dodging the Bludger, and continued to streak towards the goalposts. Glancing behind him, he saw that Oaks and Jane Thomas were hot on his tail. Thomson was attempting to tackle Scorpius, but Scorpius's broomstick was too quick. He nimbly dodged Thomson and weaved in between the countless Bludgers Fred and James were slamming at him and sped towards Spikes.

Spikes sprinted forward, trying to steal the Quaffle from Scorpius, but Scorpius's small figure played to his advantage. He was able to dodge last-minute out of Spike's grip and launch the Quaffle towards the goalposts. _Yes!_ Scorpius thought as the Quaffle flew neatly through the right goalpost. In a sort of victory dance, Scorpius did a flip with his broomstick and returned back to the center of the field, where the Quaffle was to be released again.

The rest of the tryout went excellent for Scorpius. Oaks was right; Gryffindor had hardly any Quidditch talent. The other two students trying out for the Chaser position were awful at dodging and fumbled the Quaffle; they could never hold a firm grip. The only downside to Scorpius's tryout was Fred and James. There wasn't a minute when they weren't aiming Bludgers at Scorpius. Twice they hit their target, Scorpius's head, but Scorpius refused to let them win. His head throbbing in pain, he continued playing until Oaks's whistle signaled the end of tryouts.

As Scorpius made his way back to the castle, he heard someone unfamiliar calling his name. Whipping around, Scorpius expected to see a Weasley twin cornering him; but instead, he saw three Slytherins greeting him. They looked friendly, but smug; it was as if they were planning something. "Scorpius," the leader of the group said, extending a hand. "Macnair. Damien Macnair. This is Rowle," He motioned to a big, blonde boy, "and Wren Dolohov," a dark-haired, pinch-faced girl nodded. "We're from Slytherin."

"What do you want?" Scorpius asked pointedly. He didn't really want to make friends in Slytherin; and plus, he recognized those names. All of the names were names of former Death Eaters. These kids must be their grandchildren, and Scorpius bet all of their families had a bone to pick with the Malfoys.

Macnair looked taken aback. "Why the harsh tone, friend?" he said with a winning grin. Scorpius took a moment to observe Macnair; he was tall and dark-skinned, with highly accented cheekbones and wavy, neatly combed brown hair. His eyes were so dark brown that they were almost black. There was something up with Macnair; Scorpius couldn't put his finger on it, but there was definitely something off about Macnair. "We heard about your brawl the other day with the Weasleys and Potters. You've landed detention on Halloween, yeah?"

"What's it to you?" muttered Scorpius, now highly suspicious. He knew that the news of him and his fight with the Weasley cousins had spread fast; he noticed that his friends, Flynn and Fergie, had been somewhat distant with him lately. They did accompany him to classes, but Scorpius had noticed a definite change in the tone of conversation.

Macnair's dark brown eyes glistened. "You want a bit of revenge, Malfoy?" he whispered, glancing back at his cronies. Wren was grinning, while Rowle was cracking his knuckles menacingly. "See, me and a group of Slytherins are _tired _of the Weasleys and Potters strutting around the school like they own the place," Macnair growled. "While the good, whole people like you and I are _prejudiced_ and _shunned _because of our grandparents' and parents' actions."

He spoke with such a powerful, confident tone; Scorpius couldn't help but be transfixed by what Macnair was saying.

"So," Macnair grinned, "we've come up with a bit of a plan. We've received word that your detention is held in the Dark Forest, yeah?"

Scorpius nodded, an apprehensive feeling welling up in his stomach.

"Great," Macnair's smile widened even further. "Perfect... well see, a family that I'm very close with are all vampires. They're absolutely itching to get their hands on Granger's daughter and Potter's kids as well. You know why?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Mrs. Granger seemed to have let them out of her Species-Equality Act or whatever," Macnair waved his hand as if it was completely unimportant to him. "And they're a little, to put it nicely, _upset_. They can't find any well-paying jobs and Potter has been after vampires ever since that one went rogue and bit a bunch of families... he ordered the Aurors to round up all vampires after that. Anyway..."

Scorpius had an idea where this was going, and he didn't like the sound of it.

"They want a bit of revenge," Macnair didn't seem to notice Scorpius's disgusted expression; if he had, he made no sign of it. "They're already in the forest, waiting... I'll tell them to spare you if you help us out..." Macnair's eyes flashed. "If not, you'll just be collateral damage, I guess..."

Scorpius frowned. He had no choice; Macnair was clearly threatening death. "What's the plan?"

Macnair's grin was so wide Scorpius thought it was going to stretch off his face. "You're in, then?" Macnair asked, extending a hand.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at Macnair's hand. If he shook, he would be involved in a plan to really hurt or even kill the Weasleys. But, if the Weasleys were given the choice to hurt and kill him, wouldn't they take it? _It was time those arrogant fools got a bit of revenge, _thought Scorpius, his mind whirring with thoughts of how the Weasleys had tortured him the past few weeks.

"Yes," Scorpius replied confidently, shaking Macnair's hand.


	5. F O U R

**Chapter Four: A Change of Heart**

The next few weeks were a blur for Scorpius. He had made the Quidditch team, which only angered the Weasleys and Potters even more. When he wasn't competing with Rose Weasley in classes, he was either working to prove himself at Quidditch practice, getting bullied by the Weasley cousins, or plotting his revenge with the group of Slytherins.

At the end of October, things started to wind down a bit with the approach of Halloween. The first Quidditch match of the season, Hufflepuff against Slytherin, was the day before Halloween, so there was a fair bit amount of tension between Houses for that match. Hufflepuff was in the lead for the House and Quidditch Cup five years running (_How, I have no idea,_ Scorpius would always think to himself. _Everyone knows Hufflepuff's just for the losers and misfits that don't belong in any other House..._). But overall, things started to calm down for Scorpius Malfoy. Even Fred and James eased up on hazing Scorpius during Quidditch practice as October drew to a close.

The day before Halloween, Scorpius was practicing the Bluebell Fire Charm, which was a tricky Charm that produced blue flames. Scorpius was sitting with the two Muggleborns in his dorm, Everett Bradley and Harrison O'Hare. Both were having difficulty with the Charm, while Scorpius performed it easily the first time he tried.

"_Frignus_!" said Scorpius, lazily conjuring a blue flame with the flick of his wand.

"Wonderful!" Professor Merrick jumped over to Scorpius, giving Scorpius Professor Merrick's signature clap on the back. Professor Merrick was a middle-aged, happy man with thinning, curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was either amazed at Rose Weasley or Scorpius; his attention was never focused on one of them. "Mr. Malfoy has perfected the Charm first, yet again!"

"Rose Weasley just did it, too, sir," a loud, snarky voice called from the other side of the room. Scorpius glared at the source of the voice; Albus Potter. Could Potter not allow Scorpius to have _one _moment of glory? "Professor Merrick, Rose just did the Frignus Charm thing - " He was silenced by a 'hush!' from Rose, who looked thoroughly embarrassed about the fact that she had been called out in front of the entire class.

To Scorpius's satisfaction, Professor Merrick was still paying attention to Scorpius. He challenged Scorpius to perform a much more difficult spell; it was an actual Fire-Conjuring Charm. "The incantation is _incendio!_" Professor Merrick explained to Scorpius. Scorpius glanced over and saw Rose's indignant face; Professor Merrick had never given _her_ a more advanced spell to try. Scorpius threw her an arrogant wink and she looked mutinous.

"You move your wand like this..." continued Professor Merrick, illustrating the wand movement to Scorpius. "Like a curve, curve and flick... yes, like that..." Scorpius moved his wand in the correct way five times before Professor Merrick stopped him with a cheer of approval.

"Perfect, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Merrick exclaimed, handing Scorpius a spare plant. "Now, practice the actual incantation while I walk around the class to check on other's progress... don't worry, I'll know when you've done the charm..."

Scorpius practiced the Charm; first, he continued to practice the wand movements. Scorpius didn't want to fail the Charm on his fist try, after all. He was interrupted by a frustrated Everett Bradley, who was still struggling with the Bluebell Charm.

"I'm not even getting a flame out of my wand!" exclaimed Everett, glancing longingly over at the blue flame Harrison O'Hare had just conjured, "I must be doing something wrong; hey, Scorpius, can you help...?"

Scorpius abandoned the Fire Charm to help out Everett, who was simply moving his wand incorrectly. When Everett mastered the Charm, Scorpius turned back to his plant to try the Fire-Conjuring Charm. As he was muttering the incantation, he heard an exclamation come from the other side of the room.

"Well, well, Mrs. Weasley, you've done it!" cried Professor Merrick. Scorpius whipped his head around to Albus and Rose's table. An angry feeling began to creep up his stomach when he discovered what had happened. Rose Weasley had learned how to conjure the Fire Charm without Professor Merrick telling her the incantation; she looked cheerfully at Scorpius as the plant in front of her was erupting in flames.

Scorpius spat in his plant and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

* * *

Scorpius arrived at the outskirts of the Dark Forest a little before eight o'clock on Halloween evening. He was stuffed from all of the food he had eaten at the Halloween feast; this only made the apprehensive, churning feeling in his stomach even worse. On the way down from the castle, he had gone over the plan at least eighty times in his head.

Macnair had figured out what exactly the detention was going to be two weeks ago. Hagrid was simply going to release the Weasleys and Scorpius into the Dark Forest to look for a special type of nymph. These nymphs were only active during the nighttime and were needed for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Meanwhile, Hagrid would be searching the Forest for a centaur named Firenze; apparently, Hagrid had some sort of message to deliver to Firenze.

Scorpius never asked Macnair how he received this information, but for some reason he got the impression that Macnair wasn't lying to him. Scorpius could smell a trap when he was presented with one; Macnair wouldn't have wasted a month of planning to haze Scorpius when he had a clear target at the Weasley cousins.

Once they were in the forest, Scorpius was to lead them on a trail of human blood towards the center of the Forest. When they reached the end of the trail, the five vampires would be waiting for the Weasleys. Scorpius was to run off as the vampires attacked; once they got carried away, they would forget Scorpius was the spare and might attack him, so Scorpius had to get out. When Scorpius escaped from the Dark Forest, he was to alert Headmaster Flitwick about the attacks. If they got there in time, the Weasleys would be saved. If not, it was no big deal if they were a little injured, right?

Scorpius edged closer to Hagrid's hut as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Glancing behind him, Scorpius saw four figures emerging; two of the same height, one a bit smaller, and the other much smaller. Scorpius heard their jeers and teasing before they even arrived.

As the Weasleys closed in on him, Scorpius saw the door to Hagrid's hut open. Scorpius sighed in relief as Hagrid walked out, waving a cheery hello to the Weasleys while glaring coldly at Scorpius. _I bet my father did something to piss you off, too, _Scorpius thought resentfully as Hagrid struck up a conversation with the Weasleys. _That, or Potter has been spreading rumors about me..._

"Alrigh', off ter the Fores' now," announced Hagrid, leading the five students towards the Dark Forest. Hagrid was gigantic; he had a bushy, silvery beard and a very old, dirty-looking jacket on. Scorpius curled his nose; didn't Hogwarts pay him enough to get a new jacket? Pushing aside his disgust, Scorpius followed the half-giant into the Forest, the feeling of guilt swelling in his stomach growing with every step. For a moment, Scorpius thought that Macnair's information was incorrect and Hagrid wasn't going to leave them to search for Firenze the centaur.

"Now, all of ya are in a safe par' of the fores' now," Hagrid explained, handing James a spare lantern, "an' yer job is ter find some nymphs hidin' 'round, jus' catch 'em in these nets - " he handed them each a net, "an' once yer net is full, wait fer me, I shouldn' be long," he cast a pointed look at James and Fred, "an' don' go wanderin' off now, okay? Nothin' harmless aroun' here, I jus' wan' you ter be careful... if there's any trouble, shoo' up red sparks an' I'll come right away," Hagrid turned, waving good-bye as he wandered off deeper into the forest, his lantern swinging at his side as he whistled cheerfully.

Scorpius went according to plan: he waited for a few minutes until the others caught a decent amount of nymphs. Then, he was to light his wand to find the trail of blood that was left in the clearing. Muttering "_Lumos!_", Scorpius pored around the clearing, looking for the faintest trace of blood.

Suddenly, he felt the wind being knocked out of him as someone gave him a swooping punch in the stomach. Angrily shoving himself to his feet, Scorpius confronted the tall figure of James Potter. "How you like it down there, Malfoy?" jeered James, hitting Scorpius in the arm with the lantern. "You should like it quite a bit; the dirt's where you belong - " He stopped teasing Scorpius when Rose shot him an angry glare.

Fuming, Scorpius returned to looking for the trail of blood. The guilt in his stomach had completely disappeared; he was now _excited_ to get revenge on the Weasley cousins. It was about time they were taught their lesson, the arrogant, cocky, rude, cruel... Scorpius's mind was spinning so fast with insults that he almost missed the splatter of blood below his feet.

"Hey!" Scorpius exclaimed in a fake-surprised voice as he pointed at the blood. The Weasleys bought his nervous tone; they all stared at him, transfixed and confused. Not even James Potter said a word as they began to approach Scorpius. "Look at this! It's a trail of blood!"

Fred and James rushed forward. James shoved Scorpius aside and bent down to closer examine the blood. "It looks like it's human blood," Fred said, glancing up at James. They both shot a suspicious glance at Scorpius as Albus and Rose walked over to the blood, looking apprehensive.

"D'you think we should follow it?" asked Scorpius, a fake, scared tremor in his voice. _I can't wait to watch the vampires scare the crap out of you!_

All of the Weasley cousins exchanged looks. Finally, James Potter spoke. "Yeah," he said, his eyes fixed onto Scorpius. "We should follow it to see what's up..." He stood up, his tall figure looming over Scorpius's. "But you're leading, _Malfoy_." James stabbed his wand at Scorpius's chest.

Scorpius took a deep, fake-scared breath and turned around towards the trail. "Fine," he said, stifling a grin. Scorpius proceeded to lead the pack of Weasley cousins through the Forest as he followed the trail of blood. He tried not to act too confident; if he did, Fred and James would definitely be suspicious. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of trekking through the thick undergrowth, they reached a misty, eerie clearing. The blood trail ended here.

Scorpius looked around wildly. Once the first vampire stepped out, he was instructed to run. However, a few minutes passed, and nothing happened.

"What's the holdup?" demanded Fred, glaring at Scorpius. "Where's the rest of the trail?"

"I-I dunno," Scorpius stammered; this time, the tremor in his voice was real. "It ends here..."

Suddenly, they were all surrounded. Five vampires emerged from the mist; their eyes had a strange, shrouded quality about them as they bared their fangs. Their skin was tinged gray, and Scorpius noticed that they looked unkempt and starving. Scorpius remembered what Macnair said about running from the vampires immediately; they did not look friendly. Scorpius was about to run for it, but something stopped him. His legs just wouldn't move.

"Hey!" Fred yelled as the biggest vampire tackled him into a headlock. "W-what d'you think you're doing?"

Scorpius glanced around the clearing and saw that Rose, Albus and James were all in the same position as Fred: one vampire had an arm around each of their necks, threatening to strangle them if they moved. But where was the fifth one? Scorpius turned his head slowly and saw the fifth vampire approaching him, a hungry look in his eyes...

Without thinking, Scorpius gasped and sprinted away as fast as he could. As he was running, he heard a voice bellow, _'coward!_'. He recognized the angered voice as Albus Potter. Although Albus sounded mutinous, there was a scared tremor in his yell. Scorpius bit his lip, glancing behind him, and saw that the fifth vampire was no longer following him. Scorpius halted in his tracks. He felt in his robes pocket for his wand; yes, there it was...

He glanced back at the clearing apprehensively. There were yells and screams from the Weasleys as the vampires began to attack them. Scorpius couldn't bear to hear it any longer. He glanced down at his robes and saw the Gryffindor crest there; the lion with the maroon and gold. Albus's words kept replaying in his mind... _Coward..._

_This is what your father would've done,_ a voice in Scorpius's head growled. _And your grandfather. They would've left the blood traitors to die. But if you're so different, Scorpius, why are you doing the same thing they would have done? You're a coward; you belong in Slytherin with the rest of your cowardly family..._

"No!" Scorpius exclaimed aloud, shutting out his thoughts. He glanced down at his wand, pursing his lips. He remembered reading a passage about vampires in his _Dark Species and How to Fight Them_ book the past summer... what was it that vampires were weak to? _The sunlight! Of course..._

Without a second thought, Scorpius felt his feet turn in the direction of the pained screams and yells. He was doing it; he was sprinting back to the clearing where the vampires were torturing the Weasleys. Was he insane? Scorpius didn't have time to think about why he was running back towards the Weasleys. He didn't stop running until he tripped over a bush; this caused him to tumble into the misty clearing. Immediately after recovering from his fall, Scorpius drew his wand and pointed it around the shrouded clearing in an attempt to find a target.

_There_. A vampire to his left was leaning in to bite Fred, who was no longer struggling; instead, he was twitching from a heavily bleeding wound deep in his chest. Concentrating deeply on the spell, Scorpius exclaimed, "_Incendio!_"

A jet of fire erupted from his wand and hit the vampire square in the chest; gasping, fell to the ground and began to melt. The vampire let go of Fred, who dropped limply to the ground, twitching. The vampire, gasping and screaming, suddenly disappeared with a 'pop!'; Scorpius was outraged when he realized the vampire had Apparated.

Scorpius turned around; the next vampire was waving its wand to perform the Cruciatus Curse on Albus, who was twitching feebly on the ground. Focusing again, Scorpius waved his wand and yelled, "_Incendio!_" The vampire's eyes widened when it saw the stream of fire heading towards it; right before the fire made contact, it had disappeared with a 'crack!'.

This time, when Scorpius whirred around, the vampires had dropped both James and Rose and were looking at Scorpius with a fearful expression on their faces. "I'm not scared to kill you, make you melt, whatever happens to you," Scorpius said, sounding a lot braver than he felt. Glancing on the ground, Scorpius saw that Rose was the only conscious one while James's chest was rising and falling rapidly. Scorpius looked back up to the vampires.

"Leave now. Headmaster Flitwick is on his way," Scorpius lied, trying to make his voice sound scary and intimidating; however, it still had the squeak of an eleven-year-old-boy. In an attempt to scare the vampires, he allowed a flicker of flame to spark out of his wand. Upon seeing this, the remaining three vampires exchanged terrified looks and all Apparated with 'pop!'s and 'crack!'s.

There was a moment of silence; the only noise present was Scorpius's heavy breathing and Albus's barely audible moans as he recovered from the Cruciatus Curse. Scorpius glanced around the clearing; Fred had pushed himself off of the ground, but he was weak and blood was pouring out from his chest wound. James army-crawled over to him, but the eldest Potter boy was too weak to reach his cousin. James collapsed on the ground, his breathing quick and shallow.

Rose propped Albus against a tree and stared at Scorpius. She was the only one who was able to stand up. Immediately, she sent up red sparks and turned to Scorpius, her eyes wide. "You ran away," she stated.

Scorpius's first emotion was outrage. Yeah, he had run away, but he had completely saved all of the Weasleys asses when he came back. Couldn't the Weasley half-blood squad be a _little_ grateful to him?

However, Rose wasn't finished. "But then you came back," Again, this was a statement, not a question. There was a note of confusion in her voice; Rose clearly had not expected Scorpius Malfoy to return after he had run away from the vampires.

"So what?" Scorpius challenged her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Albus stagger over to his brother and cousin and begin to help them. Scorpius glanced around; where was Hagrid? They needed help... Fred was growing weaker...

Rose tore her gaze away from her cousins and narrowed her eyes at Scorpius. However, there wasn't hatred or nervousness there anymore; there seemed to be a suspicious and guilty sort of respect in their brown depths. Biting her lip, she turned around and began to help Albus out with her injured cousins.

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound, and Scorpius whipped his head around to see Hagrid emerging from the Forest, his lantern swinging and his expression wild with worry. "I heard yellin'," he panted, glancing around. When he saw the scene, he gasped and ran over to pick up the twitching figures of Fred and James. "Wha's happened?" Hagrid asked as he turned back towards the forest and pelted away from the clearing. "The rest of yer, follow me!"

Scorpius followed him, while Rose pulled a stumbling Albus behind him. "Vampires," Scorpius panted, trying to catch up to Hagrid. "Vampires ambushed all of us..."

"Vampires? In the Forest?" gasped Hagrid, tearing through the thick undergrowth. Scorpius glanced behind him; Rose was still tugging Albus through the Forest, who looked very weak and jittery. Scorpius turned back to Hagrid and gingerly picked his way through the bushes and thorns in an attempt to catch up to the half-giant without scratching himself.

"Y-yes," Scorpius felt immensely guilty. Macnair had never told him that the vampires would try to _kill_ the Weasleys and the Potters; Scorpius just assumed the vampires were going to push the cousins around. He saw Fred's pool of blood forming around his chest, James's foaming mouth and Albus's haunted, scared eyes; he didn't want this.

What had he done?

* * *

Thanks for reading. Again, I would love to hear all of your thoughts on my writing. Suggestions are welcomed. Much thanks x


	6. F I V E

**Chapter Five: Second Chances**

Scorpius was on his way back to the Common Room fresh from a very interesting Transfiguration class. Professor Black had invited a Ministry wizard to talk to the class about Animaguses. The Ministry official's Animagus was a bird. Scorpius thought that Animaguses were very interesting; he had previously thought that a wizard could simply turn himself into an animal with a complicated incantation, but Professor Black had told Scorpius that only very, very accomplished wizards could accomplish this feat. Pushing his disappointment aside, Scorpius had observed the rest of the class with keen interest.

When he reached the Common Room, the young Gryffindor decided to pull out his books and start his Herbology essay. Professor Longbottom no longer seemed as spooked by Scorpius as he had the first day; instead, he had become more cheerful towards Scorpius, but he was still a little reserved.

As Scorpius was halfway through his essay, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Scorpius shifted his position in his chair and turned to see who wanted his attention; as he looked up at the figure standing over him, Scorpius blinked in surprise. Was Albus Potter going to start bullying him, too?

Rose Weasley was standing behind Albus Potter. They were obviously fresh from the Hospital Wing; Scorpius knew this because they hadn't been in Scorpius's Transfiguration class that morning. It was four days after the accident and Scorpius felt a tiny bit of relief when he saw that they were all right.

"Hi," Albus said, sounding awkward. He glanced back to Rose, who shrugged, and rocked uncomfortably on his feet. "Look... I'm really sorry about how... how I've been acting towards you. I-I shouldn't've judged you because you're a Malfoy. If you were anything like your family, I guess you would've kept running and left us behind to die..."

Rose stepped forward. "I'm sorry as well," she admitted. "I shouldn't've let my cousins push you around so much..."

Her and Albus exchanged a look, and Albus thrust his hand forward. "So, friends?" he asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

Scorpius took a moment to observe the two before he made up his mind. Yes, Albus and Rose had stood by and watched while James and Fred bullied Scorpius, but at the same time, Scorpius still wanted to be their friends. He figured that Albus and Rose were good people; they deserved a second chance. Everyone did. That was what Scorpius wanted, right? He couldn't be hypocritical; he decided to become civil with the Weasley cousins.

Scorpius stood up and grinned, shaking Albus's hand. "Friends," he confirmed.

* * *

Scorpius didn't expect Albus and Rose to become his best friends; he had just assumed that the Weasley cousins would act civil towards him. However, the rest of the day, Albus and Rose made a true effort to be nice and friendly to Scorpius. Pushing his suspicions aside, Scorpius started to grow close to the two cousins. He finally had a stable group of friends; Beckett Fitzroy didn't talk to him anymore because they never saw each other, and the popular Finnegan twins had groups of their own friends.

Albus and Scorpius were talking animatedly about Quidditch on their way to Potions as Rose listened. Rose wasn't really into Quidditch; she was more of the strictly-studious and clever type. Scorpius soon realized that she was much smarter than he had expected her to be; Scorpius was very clever, while Rose was more logical and had a greater overall intelligence than Scorpius.

The three friends were walking towards their classroom in the dungeons when Scorpius felt someone grab his scruff and pull him aside. Making a loud choking noise, Scorpius was thrust into a dark corner of the dungeons. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Albus and Rose run over towards him, glaring at the person who had rudely tugged Scorpius away.

"What's that for?" challenged Scorpius, glaring into the tan, square face of Damien Macnair.

Damien Macnair's eyes burned at Rose and Albus, who attempted to lead Scorpius away from him, but Scorpius wouldn't budge. He wanted a few words with Macnair.

"You know what that's for," spat Macnair, his eyes still blazing at the Weasley cousins. "I can't believe you actually became _friends_ with scum like them. You ruined our plan; we could've stopped the Weasleys' arrogance if you hadn't gotten in the way."

"I never thought you'd try to _kill_ them," Scorpius hissed, scowling with disgust at Macnair. "You're sick and twisted, Macnair; Fred Weasley and James Potter have only just gotten out of the Hospital Wing for their injuries. You're lucky I didn't turn you in."

"Hold on," Albus said, stepping in between Scorpius and Macnair. He jabbed a finger into Macnair's chest. "_You _planned to have us killed? _You're_ the one who thought it'd be a right laugh to kill a bunch of first and third years? What the hell is your problem?"

"You're the problem," snarled Macnair, his large figure towering over Albus and Scorpius. "Your snarky, arrogant attitude as you _prance_ around the castle with your _special _cousins is sickening," He turned to Scorpius, his dark brown eyes smoldering. "You can do better than this, Scorpius. Stick with me and become friends with _honorable _pureblooded wizards. Your father wouldn't want you hanging out with dirt like the Weasley-Potter clan." Like what Albus had done hours before, Macnair stuck out a hand, expecting Scorpius to shake it.

"You're just as crazy as your Death Eater grandfather if you ever thought I'd shake that," said Scorpius, looking at Macnair's hand as if it was a pile of maggots, "The fact that you and your friends' only source of pride is the fact that you're pureblooded is laughable. I thought the Slytherin House had changed; it's sad to see that scum like you are proving me wrong," Scorpius lifted his gaze to Macnair's eyes. "And who are you to say what my family wants? You don't know anything about us."

Pushing Macnair's hand away, Scorpius stalked away, followed by a confused Albus and Rose. "You'll be sorry you said that, Malfoy," Macnair's enraged voice hissed as Scorpius stormed away, "I know things about your family that will make your hair curl. Your idea of your family will _tarnish _very soon, you filthy blood-traitor..."

When they were far away from Macnair, Scorpius sighed and turned towards Albus. "Look, Albus, I'm really sorry..." he began, noticing Albus's silence. "I planned with Macnair to play a little prank on you guys on Halloween, alright? I didn't think the vampires would _kill_ you, Macnair said that they were only going to scare you. That's why I came back... because I didn't want you guys to be killed from my mistakes."

Albus looked uncertain. "It's alright," he said after a moment. "You saved us in the end, after all." His gaze darted over to the dark corner were Macnair was still standing; the dark boy's eyes were still glaring at Scorpius. "I-I have to understand that you were bullied for two months and that's what led you to be tempted by Macnair's offer. So, honestly, it's alright."

"Thanks," Scorpius said, relieved that Albus forgave him. By now, the large crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins were shuffling into the Potions classroom. Albus, Rose and Scorpius followed them and sat in a seat towards the back.

Today, Professor Winston instructed them to make a simple Fever Potion. Upon consumption of the Potion, the drinker would no longer have a fever. It was fairly easy to make; Scorpius liked how the book outlined clear instructions and was easily able to brew the potion. Scorpius finished at the same time as Rose and they both walked up to the front of the class, their flasks of Fever Potion in hand as they deposited their flasks onto Professor Winston's desk.

Potions wasn't Albus's best subject. Albus had the tendency to scan over certain directions, which completely messed up his potion. While Rose refused to help Albus because she considered it cheating, Scorpius took pity on his new friend and helped him out. As Scorpius was whispering instructions to Albus out of the corner of his mouth, Professor Winston approached them.

"Not helping out your pal, are you, Malfoy?" Professor Winston asked in his strict, deep voice. Professor Winston was Head of Hufflepuff House; he was a round, plump man with a small, curly mustache and a balding head. He was very warm to students of his own House, but was known to be notoriously strict to those that were not Hufflepuffs. However, Professor Winston was very fair; he never gave punishments that a student didn't deserve.

"Uh, no, sir," Scorpius said, flashing Professor Winston what he hoped was a winning, innocent smile.

"Mhm," Professor Winston mumbled, clearly not believing Scorpius. He peered into Albus's cauldron and looked up, not impressed. "Mr. Potter, you have neglected to add the three dumbsworth berries that were outlined in instruction number one..."

"Yeah - I mean, yes, sir," Albus blurted without thinking, "Sco - I mean, I, was just going to add those," After a moment of uncomfortable hesitation, he added, "- uh, sir."

"I see," Professor Winston surveyed the two boys, unimpressed. "I'll keep that in mind while I'm grading your concoction, Mr. Potter..." Professor Winston walked away to check on Everett Bradley, Harrison O'Hare and Flynn Finnegan's potions and Albus sighed while Rose shot him a glare.

"I told you both that you'd get caught!" Rose hissed shrilly, looking highly concerned and stressed. "You really can't mess up this potion, Albus, you need to get a higher grade in the class!"

"Rose, relax," Albus said as he dipped a flask into the potion and pulled it out; the liquid was a teal-blue instead of the aquamarine color it was supposed to be, "I'll just do better next time. It's really no big deal; I'm only a first-year. James said that the only academic year that matters is your fifth-year, because that's when you get your O.W.L.s."

"You're taking academic advice from your _brother_?" Rose rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated with Albus. Scorpius had to agree with her; James Potter didn't seem like the kid who would be the star of the classroom.

"Albus does have a point," Scorpius said as Albus walked away to hand in his potion, "You're only really hired based on what O.W.L. classes you take - "

"Yes, Scorpius," Rose sounded completely defeated now; she was talking to Scorpius as if she was talking to an eight-year-old. "But your O.W.L.s revolve on everything you've studied from your first-year onward, so doing well in every class is necessary if you want at least an 'E'! And even getting an E on an O.W.L. would be embarrassing..."

It was Scorpius's turn to roll his eyes; he had thought that _he _cared about his schoolwork, but Rose Weasley brought excelling in the classroom to an entirely different level. She seemed to be obsessed with getting the perfect grade, and this bothered Scorpius a little. Rose Weasley really needed to just relax and stop caring about school so much; they were only first-years. Scorpius knew that first-years only really learned magical theory, so by the time they got to their fifth-year the stuff the first-years were learning now would just be basic knowledge.

When the class was over, Scorpius waved good-bye to Albus and Rose because he had to head over to the Quidditch pitch for a last-minute practice before Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff the next day. The match tomorrow was very important; Hufflepuff was defending the Quidditch Cup and Gryffindor needed to win if they were to be in the running at all. As Scorpius made his way up to the Quidditch pitch, he heard two voices call his name. Whirling around, Scorpius saw the figures of Fred and James approaching him. His stomach knotted in nervousness; did the two cousins still hate him? Were they going to bully him after what Scorpius had done to save their lives?

"Scorpius!" James called as Scorpius began to turn away, "Hold on a minute!"

The fact that James Potter had just called Scorpius 'Scorpius' instead of 'Malfoy' was enough to stop Scorpius in his tracks. With a surprised crease of his eyebrows, Scorpius faced Fred Weasley and James Potter as they stood next to Scorpius, a broom clasped in each of their hands.

They both looked fully recovered. Fred was still a bit pale, but Scorpius could see the determination in his visage and knew that Fred was dying to get on his broom again. "Scorpius," James said, looking very confident with what he was about to say, "I know what happened in the Forest. You saved our lives, and... well, after all that we've done to you, Fred and I both think that's pretty impressive."

"If the roles had been reversed, I wouldn't have come back for myself," said Fred. "I would've loved to see myself bleeding to death from a vampire bite. But you honestly saved my life; if I hadn't gotten to Madame Pomfrey in time, I wouldn't be here right now." Fred glanced over at James, who nodded in agreement.

"So, really, we'd like to say that we're sorry for thinking you were a spoiled, Slytherin-obsessed, self-entitled, pure-blood-supremacist git like the rest of your family, if you don't mind me saying that," James grinned, giving Scorpius a friendly pat on the back. "I completely understand if you don't forgive us; we were arrogant and plain awful to you, after all."

"But I think Tiger Oaks would really like it if we all got along," Fred added seriously. "He hasn't been very nice to James and I after the last few Quidditch practices..."

"... when we jinxed your broom..." James said guiltily.

"... enlarged the Bludgers and flew them at your face..."

"... hit you with our bats loads of times..."

"We just hope that you'll find it in your big, Gryffindor heart to forgive us," Fred said, a smile spreading across his face.

Scorpius realized that he liked the two cousins when they were friendly; they were funny and cheerful; plus, Scorpius loved people with a sense of humor. "Of course I forgive you," he grinned, hoping that the Weasley cousins would stay true to their word and not attack him during Quidditch practice anymore.

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed, ruffling Scorpius's hair as he pulled him into a friendly headlock. "We'll be the best of friends yet, Scorpius. You've got to have some sort of mischievous streak in you if you were planning to scare us with a bunch of vampires - yes, we understand that you didn't _mean_ it, Albus just told us the whole story as we were leaving the Common Room - so I'm sure we'll have some good fun together the next five years..."

The three members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team proceeded to walk to the Quidditch pitch together, and Scorpius couldn't remember a time when he was happier. He not only had Albus and Rose as friends now, but he had the two Weasley cousins. For the first time in his life, Scorpius felt like he finally belonged somewhere.

* * *

Thank you for the reviews. I will definitely try to tweak everything that was suggested as I find it was really helpful. Thanks for reading and keep reviewing ;) ... x


	7. S I X

**Chapter Six: The Underdog**

_Dear Scorpius,_

_It's wonderful to hear that all of your hard work has paid off and that you've been placed on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. That's such an honor, Scorp - remember to play hard; you'll always have to prove yourself as a first-year on the Quidditch pitch. If you remember everything that Mrs. Aerpuff told you, I'm sure you'll bring the Gryffindor Quidditch team some glory. _

_You can imagine that I'm not jumping up and down at the news that you're a Gryffindor, but I'm still very proud of you. I'm a little disappointed that you won't be able to experience the mysteries and glory of the Slytherin House, but at least you're not a Hufflepuff. If you're a Gryffindor, you must be somewhat different than I was at your age; and trust me, you want to be very different than I was. In a way, I'm glad you're not surrounded by the shifty classmates you would've been affiliating with had you been placed in Slytherin House this year - you know, the students whose parents and grandparents are in Azkaban._

_I've also received a letter from Headmaster Flitwick regarding the incident in the Dark Forest - I'm relieved that you're alright and immensely proud that you managed to fight off some vampires! It's great to know that you're already making a name for yourself at such a young age. The fact that you saved Mr. Potter's children and the Weasley kids is something to be proud of, as well; those families will owe you a lot for saving their kids. You're playing your cards well, Scorp!_

_Much love,_

_Dad_

Scorpius read the letter through a few times, frowning. He was sitting in the Great Hall; it was only an hour from his first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. He had been very nervous about the match until the letter from his father arrived; however, after reading the letter, Scorpius felt worse. His father was actually convinced that Scorpius had only saved the Potters and the Weasleys so that they would owe him something; this could not be farther from the truth. _That's why he was a Slytherin and you were a Gryffindor..._

"What's up?" Albus asked as he munched on a piece of toast. Rose was sitting next to him, reading _Quidditch Through the Ages. _After practice last night, she had suggested it to Scorpius, but he refused; he had already read the book multiple times. Although Rose wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch, she seemed to be completely immersed in the book.

"I just got a letter from my dad," said Scorpius, handing his letter over to Albus. "He's convinced that I'm using you guys so that your family will owe me something... typical, coming from a Slytherin, I guess..."

"Macnair!" Albus exclaimed suddenly as he read through the letter, throwing his toast onto his plate. His outburst earned him many stares from the Hufflepuff table and from the Gryffindors sitting around him. Glancing worriedly at them, Albus's voice turned into a whisper. "I just realized! _His _parents were arrested by my dad for performing the Cruciatus Curse on a few Muggle-borns in the Ministry. I thought his name sounded familiar..."

"What a piece of scum," Scorpius growled aloud, his eyes searching for Macnair's dark face among the Slytherin table. Macnair, however, was not present; Scorpius spotted Rowle and Wren Dolohov, but Macnair was missing. Scorpius figured that Macnair was sleeping in; what reason would the prick have to come to a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch match?

"Really..." Albus said, tossing Scorpius back his letter. "Funny how your dad thinks you only saved us so our families would owe you something," Albus laughed, as if the fact that Scorpius was using his friendship for revenge was ridiculous. "Imagine if you told him you were _friends_ with us!"

"It'll slip out eventually," grinned Scorpius as he felt two pairs of hands pat him on the back. Turning around, Scorpius saw James Potter and Fred Weasley smiling down at him. They, like Scorpius, were dressed in their maroon Quidditch robes.

"Ready for the big game, Scorpius?" smirked Fred, pulling Scorpius up from the table. "Oaks and Thomas are already in the changing rooms. I don't think they even had breakfast."

"Why's that?" asked Scorpius, waving good-bye to Albus and Rose as he was dragged from the Great Hall by the two cousins. Right before he exited the Hall, Scorpius saw Albus and Rose mouthing 'good luck!' to him. Scorpius felt his heart swell; their optimism made him feel more confident about the game.

"You heard what they said last night," James said, opening the front gates of the castle. The chilly fall air whipped their faces as they stepped outside. Light clouds obscured the sun as the wind whistled around the grounds. This made Scorpius feel apprehensive; they had never practiced in this sort of wind, let alone played in it. Closing his eyes from the harsh gust, James continued, "Hufflepuff has lost most of their team; they were basically a bunch of seventh-years last year."

"And with some new talent on the team..." Fred winked at Scorpius, "Oaks and Jane are hoping that we can squeeze a quick lead out of Hufflepuff and knick the Snitch before they do," Fred suddenly glanced behind the three, making sure no one was around, and added in a whisper to Scorpius: "don't tell anyone I said this, but Spence is a real drag on the team. I bet you've noticed in practice; Spence can't spot the Snitch to save his life! Oaks is too good of friends with him to let him go, though..."

"I swear he's half-blind," muttered James mutinously, kicking a stray blade of grass to let out his anger, "_He's _the real reason why Gryffindor has stunk the past decade and a half; the Snitch is everything in Quidditch! You'd think Oaks would see sense enough to know that Spence is a disastrous Seeker..." James sighed, shrugging. "Al's a pretty good Seeker, and that's coming from _me_. If only Oaks held a true tryout for _all _positions and not just Chaser..."

James and Fred stopped their rant when the three Quidditch players arrived at the Quidditch pitch. The trio of Gryffindors made their way over to the Gryffindor changing rooms. As they walked in, they saw that Oaks and Jane Thomas were in the middle of a heated discussion.

"If you want the team to win the Cup, Tiger, you're really going to have to consider other options!" Jane Thomas snapped at Oaks as James, Fred and Scorpius shuffled in. She looked up, surprised; for a moment, there was a flicker of fear in her eyes, but then her gaze softened. She glanced angrily at Oaks, who was looking stubborn, and nodded in welcome to Fred, James and Scorpius.

Jane Thomas kicked Oaks in the shins and he looked over at the three newest arrivals, looking highly embarrassed. "H-hello!" he stammered, immediately standing up and striding towards the center of the room, "Uh, anyway; Jane, we'll talk later..." Jane looked mutinous, but Oaks didn't seem to notice. "But we have most of our team here, so we can get started on strategies, I guess..."

For the next five minutes, Oaks went over the plays that the team had practiced the previous night. Most of them were Chaser plays, so Fred and James were hardly paying attention. As Oaks finished his third explanation for the Scottish Duck and Weave, the other two members of the team arrived. Sam Spikes was a broad-shouldered, very tough looking sixth-year; however, his looks were quite deceiving as he was very kind and cheerful. Peter Spence was an arrogant, gloating seventh-year that argued with the whole team; except for his best friend, Oaks.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's talk about Hufflepuff," Oaks said as the two boys took their seats around the whiteboard, "Like what I said last night; Hufflepuff plays fair, but they're very tough. They're not very fast, but they can easily spot dodges and can tackle you right off your brooms. They have stellar aim with their Bludgers, so we'll have to watch out for that, as well."

Scorpius heard a loud noise that sounded strangely distant; the noise continued to grow until it became a loud, excited roar that made Scorpius's head ache. Glancing around the room, Scorpius noticed that the rest of the team had noticed the noise, too. Oaks's expression was grave as he tapped his broom on the ground; his expression softened as he nodded encouragingly to his team. "I can hear the crowd..." he said, a flicker of anxiety gleaming in his eyes, "It's time, guys. Let's go."

Scorpius, along with the rest of the team, walked over to the cubbies where their brooms, robes and clothes were stored. Scorpius grabbed his Firebolt IV and followed his team out of the changing rooms and towards the Quidditch pitch. Once the Gryffindor team emerged onto the field, they were greeted with a loud, earsplitting roar. Scorpius immediately figured out the loud noise he had heard in the changing rooms; it was the crowd, roaring and stomping. Everyone in the stands seemed to be on their feet, screaming, clapping, booing or hissing. Scorpius felt a little nauseous.

Across the field, Scorpius saw the Hufflepuff team file onto the pitch. Their robes were a bright, canary yellow with black trim. Their captain strode forward into the center of the field; her team followed her, glaring and sneering at their Gryffindor opponents. Scorpius walked away from James and Fred and took his place on the left of Tiger Oaks; his position was Left Chaser.

Oaks strutted to the center of the field; his broad-chest puffed out and his eyes narrowed at the Hufflepuff captain. The Hufflepuff captain looked strangely familiar; Scorpius felt like he should have recognized her. Oaks and the Hufflepuff Captain shook hands. After they shook hands, a voice boomed over the roar of the crowd; it was magically magnified. Scorpius craned his neck towards the scoreboard and saw a freckled, blonde-haired boy sitting next to the scoreboard. He winked at James and Fred, and Scorpius recognized him immediately: the commentator of the match was Louis Weasley.

"And the Gryffindor Captain, Tiger Oaks, and the Hufflepuff Captain, Victoire Weasley - " _A Weasley! That's why I thought I knew her... _" - shake hands. Yes, for all wondering, Victoire _is _indeed my sister but I'll be rooting against her because I'm a Gryffindor, of course! Sorry, Professor, I'll be less biased, I promise - " Louis directed his comment to an angry Professor Winston, " - break a leg, Vicky! Literally. Anyway, some fun facts before the match starts... Oaks is a Chaser while Victoire is a Beater, kind of a strange position for a girl if you ask me, but there you have it. Now, the Quaffle is about to be released by our referee today, please welcome Madame Hooch..."

A woman who reminded Scorpius of a hawk was standing in the center of the circle; one hand holding the Quaffle, and the other hand clasping two Bludgers and the Snitch. Her robes were a bright purple and had the Hogwarts crest emblazoned in the middle.

"And the match will begin in three... two... one... go!"

Madame Hooch released the Quaffle, which spun into the air; it became a red, spinning blur. Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius saw the Snitch disappear and the Bludgers whip into the air. Focusing his attention back onto the Quaffle, Scorpius immediately swerved left when he saw that Oaks had gained possession of the Quaffle. Scorpius's broom was too fast for the Hufflepuff Right-Chaser guarding him; Grayson Robbins. Scorpius flew past the third-year and cut into the middle of the field, extending his arm to show Oaks that he was open.

Oaks was being flanked by the other two Hufflepuff Chasers; Dominique Weasley and Layden Macmillan. Spotting Scorpius, Oaks immediately released the Quaffle. The pass was aimed perfectly, the Quaffle connected with Scorpius's hand and Scorpius grabbed it, shoving it under his arm as he streaked towards the goalposts. The Hufflepuff Keeper stopped him, snarling; Scorpius recognized him as Vincent Vermont. Vermont was very wide, with huge shoulders and large, muscular arms. Using his small size to his advantage, Scorpius baited the gigantic Keeper one way and zoomed the next, easily bypassing him. Grinning with joy, Scorpius tossed the Quaffle into the center hoop and heard a 'ding!' as the goal was counted by the scoreboard.

A huge eruption of cheers greeted him from the Gryffindor stands as Scorpius was surrounded by his teammates. James and Fred each gave him a friendly punch in the arm, while Jane Thomas and Oaks hugged him. Spence was too busy looking for the Snitch and Spikes was too far away, but they each gave him a thumbs-up as the Gryffindor team made their way back to the center of the field.

"And Scorpius Malfoy scores! It's ten to zero Gryffindor - yes, Hufflepuff, you were just scored on by a _first-year_. Kind of pathetic, if you ask me - sorry, Professor Winston, I know you're team's _losing_, but - okay, I was kidding! I didn't mean to be _disrespectful, _sir - "

Madame Hooch paused to allow Louis Weasley and Professor Winston to settle their quarrel; a few moments passed, and Louis gained control of the commentary again. As he was leading a cheer for Gryffindor, the Quaffle was released.

This time, Grayson Robbins grabbed the Quaffle and charged forward. As Scorpius flew forward to defend him, Robbins crashed into Tiger Oaks and dropped the Quaffle. Seizing his opportunity, Oaks snatched the Quaffle and hurled it down the field to Jane Thomas, who was wide open. She easily dodged Vermont and flung the Quaffle into the left ring; there was a 'ding!' and the Gryffindor section exploded in cheers.

The Hufflepuff game was an exciting blur for Scorpius. Him, Oaks and Thomas worked perfectly together: the slow, confused Hufflepuffs were no match for the quick Gryffindor Chasers. In the middle of the game, Scorpius completely lost count of the amount of goals he had scored. The current score was one-hundred-and-eighty to zero; the Quaffle hadn't even gotten close to Spikes the entire game.

The Quaffle was released for the umpteenth time; this round, Scorpius was the one who snatched it out of the air and sprinted towards the goalposts. His Firebolt IV was unrivaled by any other broom on the field; he heard the familiar 'ooo's and 'ahh's as his broom ripped towards the Hufflepuff end. Right as Scorpius was winding up to chuck the Quaffle into the right goalpost, there was a whistle. A second after, he heard a whizzing sound and ducked right; a moment later, a stray Bludger whirled right by him.

This distraction caused Scorpius to miss the event that had caused the whistle. Louis's commentary quickly brought him up to date. "And the Hufflepuff Seeker, Ms. Sara Lampert, grabs the Snitch right under Sam Spence's nose!" Scorpius heard Louis mutter something that sounded like 'no surprise, really'. "And Hufflepuff gets the Snitch - " The Hufflepuff end began to cheer; Scorpius almost rolled his eyes. Hufflepuff had still _lost _even though they caught the Snitch first, why were they cheering? " - but Gryffindor wins! Hufflepuff's _ten-year _winning streak ends today! Your favorite underdogs, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, is victorious!"

Scorpius whooped; punching a fist in the air as he descended towards the ground. As he landed, he felt himself being tackled by an elated James and Fred. The next thing he knew, the whole team was hugging each other, thrusting their fists in the air and jumping up and down. A few seconds later, they were joined by the Gryffindor section; everyone was yelling, screaming and celebrating. Scorpius felt as if he was surrounded by a thousand people; the feeling was incredible.

Louis still clutched the magical microphone as he ran over to high-five James and Fred. He nimbly dodged Professor Winston, who was chasing after him with angry expression on his face. Sparing a moment to laugh at the scene, Scorpius then turned around to face the roaring crowd that was applauding and cheering at the top of their lungs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time that Gryffindor - that _any team _- has beat the Hufflepuff squad in _ten years_!" exclaimed Louis. He was now in the middle of the crowd; Professor Winston's large body wasn't able to fit through the crowd, so Louis could say whatever he wanted now. There was a smug, satisfied expression on the blonde Weasley boy's face as he spoke. "This is the first time the Gryffindor Quidditch team has won a match in five years... is that correct, Oaks? Sorry, I meant no offense - it's correct, Jane? - Alright, sorry - the first time Gryffindor has won a Quidditch match in _seven_ years!"

The mass of gold and maroon waved and cheered at Louis's words. As Scorpius was hoisted onto Spikes's broad shoulders, he saw the Hufflepuff fans stalking away; some threw their scarves and ties on the ground and proceeded to stomp on them angrily. This brought Scorpius immense joy; he let out a triumphant yell and pumped his first in the air. The rest of the crowd was staring up at Scorpius; they looked at him punching his fists in the air and followed suit. Soon, all of the Gryffindor fans were throwing their fists in the air and whooping as if the whole House had choreographed some sort of dance. Scorpius couldn't see a single person in the Gryffindor crowd that wasn't cheering at the top of their lungs.

" - same squad as last year, except for the addition of a _first-year_ - yes, ladies and gentlemen, I suppose a first-year _does _change the team quite a bit - how many goals did he score, Mr. Trent? Seven? Seven goals for Mr. Scorpius Malfoy!" The crowd erupted in cheers. "Nine goals for Mr. Tiger Oaks and three goals for Ms. Jane Thomas! Gryffindor has a pretty powerful Chaser line-up as you can see, we never really got to see Spikes's talent due to the fact that the Quaffle never reached the Gryffindor end - "

Scorpius and the rest of the Gryffindor team were lifted and dragged back to the Common Room by an elated crowd; the Gryffindor crowd's cheers echoed through the halls. The cheering was loud and raucous, but Scorpius loved every second of it. If Scorpius wasn't a Gryffindor, he would've been highly annoyed. However, Scorpius _was_ a Gryffindor, and he was proud of it, no matter what his father thought. Scorpius wanted to remember this memory forever; he had finally found his true place at Hogwarts.

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Thanks guys for the support, honestly I'd love some more followers but I figure that'll come soon; my fic is fairly new, after all. Again, I love the reviews, they really keep me going, so please continue to write them... thanks! x


	8. S E V E N

**Chapter Seven: The Rapiers**

The short autumn months had melted away to be replaced by the longer, colder months of winter. One day at the end of November, it started to snow. The snow made Hogwarts even more beautiful than it already was; the castle was peppered in white flecks, and if one looked out the window he would be transfixed by the never-ending white hills and the snow-capped mountains. Luckily, it snowed on a weekend, so almost every person at Hogwarts was outside enjoying the beautiful, mystical snow; to the children, the snow seemed to hold a magic that was a bit different than Hogwarts's magic.

That Saturday, Scorpius and the Weasley cousins were in the middle of a heated snowball fight in the courtyard. Scorpius's team included Fred, James, Albus, Fred's older sister Roxanne, and Lucy Weasley's younger sister Molly. Louis's team contained Victoire, Dominique, Rose and Lucy. Scorpius had been surprised that the _Head Girl _Lucy Weasley joined the match; but to his surprise, she had incredible aim and had hit Scorpius many times in the arm throughout the match.

Scorpius's team was being utterly destroyed by Rose's team. At first, Scorpius had thought that Rose's team, being a bunch of girls, would stand no chance against the twin-cousins and the older cousins on his team. He was proven wrong; Lucy Weasley was an incredible spell-caster and bewitched hundreds of snowballs to fire at Scorpius's team; now, Scorpius's team was hiding behind a statue as snowballs peppered the structure they were huddling behind.

"Alright, guys," whispered Roxanne Weasley, a fifth-year. Like Fred, she was very tan with bright blue eyes with a hint of freckles dotting her nose. Her dark brown hair was long and wavy; but now, it was completely wet and covered in snow. "We're losing. Pretty badly - "

" - thanks for stating the obvious - " Fred rolled his eyes.

"Shuttup, Fred. Anyway, I think that we should make a _huge _snowball and bewitch it to hurl it at them," Roxanne glanced around, looking at the confused expression on everyone's faces. Molly Weasley, a pale, red-headed sixth-year, was the only one who didn't look confused.

"Roxanne and I can do the spells," Molly said. "Fred, James, Albus and Scorpius: your guy's job will be to distract the other team while we're creating the huge snowball."

"Good idea," said Roxanne, giving her cousin a pat on the back. She turned back to the team, her blue eyes glancing up at the snowballs hitting the statue. "Okay, we're going to follow Molly's plan... ready, go!"

Scorpius emerged from the statue and pelted towards the other side of the courtyard, followed by Albus. Together, they gathered as many snowballs as they could and launched them across the courtyard. Albus managed to hit an angry Dominique in the head, while Scorpius's snowballs never reached their target. Scorpius gathered another snowball and hurled it at Lucy Weasley, who was beginning to cast another spell that would fling dozens of snowballs at Scorpius and Albus. Scorpius's snowball hit Lucy square in the chest and she doubled backward, coughing.

"Great hit!" Albus exclaimed, high-fiving Scorpius. Scorpius saw Lucy Weasley recover and flourish her wand. To his horror, he realized that the dozens of snowballs were aimed at him. Yelling, Scorpius ran backwards in an attempt to dive for cover, but it was too late. Scorpius was knocked to the ground as tens and dozens of snowballs were launched at him; he felt like he was being punched by a five-year-old a hundred times.

After Lucy's attack, Scorpius lay on the ground, moaning in pain. Squinting one eye open, Scorpius saw Rose and Lucy laughing and pointing at Scorpius. Scorpius was so angry he began to shake. A concerned Albus kneeled next to him and patted Scorpius. "Scorp?" asked Albus, looking worried. "Scorp, are you alright? You're not having a... uh, seizure, are you?"

Scorpius pushed himself up, glaring at the two Weasley cousins who were still laughing at him. "No, not a seizure," he muttered, casting a mutinous glare at Rose, who winked and waved at him. "But yeah, I'm fine..."

Albus followed Scorpius's gaze and realized Scorpius was staring at Rose and Lucy Weasley. "Ignore them," Albus advised Scorpius, grabbing Scorpius's hand and pulling him up. "They always win in snowball fights because Lucy's on their team. She's exactly like Rose; Rose basically _worships_ her. Except, Lucy's way more snobby and braggy while Rose doesn't really brag that much," Albus shrugged. "Yeah, Lucy's not my favorite cousin."

"It must be nice to have so many cousins," Scorpius said wistfully. "My only aunt, Aunt Daphne, was killed in the Wizarding War nineteen years ago. And my dad doesn't have any siblings, so I've never really had a brother or a sister or even a cousin."

Albus slung his arm around Scorpius's shoulder. "You have me," Albus grinned optimistically. "My dad was just like you, you know. Except for the fact that his parents were dead... anyway, he never really had any other siblings and he definitely didn't have any cousins. But look," Albus motioned to all of the Weasley cousins hurling snowballs at each other. "The Weasleys treated him as one of their own, and they were like his family. Every one of my cousins likes you ever since you saved us! Hey, maybe I can invite you over for Christmas?" Albus looked hopefully at Scorpius. "We have a huge Christmas gathering every year at my grandparents'. We have a big Easter one, too. Do you want to come?"

Scorpius saw all of the Weasleys throwing snowballs at each other; Scorpius loved Albus's cousins and they seemed to all like him, too. It would be nice to spend Christmas with a big family like the Weasleys instead of just his mother and father. "Yeah," grinned Scorpius. "Yeah, that'd be really cool."

"Awesome!" Albus bent over and started to make a snowball. "You can meet my little sister Lily, and my cousin, Hugo. Hugo is Rose's brother. They're both two years younger than us and the youngest cousins..." Albus stopped explaining his family when he spotted the humongous snowball being catapulted from their side of the field.

Scorpius followed Albus's gaze to the twelve-foot high snowball that was being hurled at Rose Weasley's team. Rose, Lucy, Louis, Victoire and Dominique noticed the snowball too late; Dominique and Victoire scrambled to get out of the way, while Rose, Lucy and Louis were frozen to the spot. The gigantic snowball hovered over them for a moment, and then suddenly dropped. Scorpius thought that the Weasley cousins were stuck under the large snowball, but then all five of their faces popped up at once, coughing and sputtering.

"Ah _ha_!" Roxanne Weasley crowed next to a smug-looking James and Fred. Molly was further behind, looking a bit guilty. "How's that feel, Lucy? Revenge at it's finest! Do you give up yet?"

"Yes!" gasped Louis as he floundered in the snowball in an attempt to get out, "Yes! We surrender!"

Scorpius cheered, he was joined by Roxanne, Albus, James, Fred and Molly; all six of them started jumping around in the circle in a victory dance. Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius saw the other team crawl out of the snowball and watch Scorpius's team's celebrations; each of them were frowning.

The celebrations lasted a few moments longer before Scorpius's team broke up; each gave each other high-fives and murmurs of congratulations. Scorpius saw Albus walk over to the other side to talk to Rose; Scorpius began to walk over to join them, but someone grabbed the scruff of his robes and tugged him backwards.

"Not so fast, Scorpius," a grinning Fred greeted him.

"Come on," James said, pulling Scorpius away from the courtyard and towards the castle. "We have something to show you, my friend."

They led Scorpius into the castle. They ascended many staircases and ran through many corridors; after awhile, Scorpius realized that he had no idea where he was. Right as his feet began to ache, Fred and James swerved into an empty, abandoned classroom. Scorpius followed them, confused.

The classroom looked as if it hadn't been used for centuries. There were cobwebs on the corners of desks, chairs and the walls; however, it looked like someone had recently been decorating it. There were torches lining the walls and a banner draped over the windows. The banner was white with red, boxy letters reading 'The Rapiers'.

"What is this place?" Scorpius asked in awe.

Fred and James exchanged a smirk. "Why, it's the clubhouse for the Rapiers, of course," grinned Fred, motioning to the torch-lit classroom.

"Conveniently located in the Forbidden Hallway!" James said confidently, as if he was advertising some new broomstick, "The clubhouse cannot be seen by outsiders mainly due to the fact that you need one of these," He thrust out his hand, which had an ornate, ruby ring on it, "to enter."

"Then how did I just enter?" asked Scorpius suspiciously. "And how did you manage to do that sort of advanced magic?"

"First question: you're with us, so you can enter," Fred explained. "But if you were alone, you would set off some alarm that would trigger Peeves to come. And he would make your life hell."

"Second question: we're much brighter than you think we are," said James. "We only really excel in classes that we _like_. And we only practice charms and spells that will prove useful to us later," James raised his eyebrows at Scorpius. "Al told us that you're giving Rose a run for her money in the classroom. We could use your cunning and cleverness here."

"That's why we've invited you to join the Rapiers," whispered Fred, pointing to the banner. "It's an exclusive club that's dedicated to trouble-making. We got the idea from the Marauders, surely you've heard of them?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"My granddad was a Marauder," James said proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'm named after him. My other namesake, Sirius Black, was a Marauder, too."

"And Teddy Lupin's dad," Fred grinned. "My dad's the one who gave James's dad the Marauder's Map. James stole it from Uncle Harry's desk."

"What's the Marauders Map?" Scorpius asked, intrigued.

"Only the secret to our success," James said, pulling out an old piece of parchment from his pocket. "Watch this... ready? 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'."

To Scorpius's amazement, the parchment unfolded to show a map of Hogwarts. As Scorpius peered to look at the map more closely, he discovered that names seemed to be floating around the castle. Furrowing his eyebrows, he asked, "Does this map show the position of every single person at Hogwarts?"

"Ding-ding," Fred said. "Correct."

"It also shows all of the secret passageways," James said, pointing to a number of passages that Scorpius had never seen, "it's how we've been getting around for the past three years - "

" - and then, this year, we had an idea - " continued Fred.

" - instead just pranking people by ourselves, we thought we'd make a little clique - "

" - an exclusive clique, of course - "

" - and keep the Map in here, along with some other items of interest - "

" - you're our first _recruited _member," finished Fred, grinning. "You see, the Marauders were kind of like a pack that walked around: Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs; and created havoc everywhere. They also mastered how to become Animaguses, which is extremely impressive..."

"Wait, so there's only three of us?" asked Scorpius, a little unimpressed.

"No, four," James said. "Louis is a part of it, too. But Fred, Louis and I created the club, while you're our first member, if that makes any sense."

"A bit," Scorpius shrugged. "Do I have to do something to earn my right to become an official member?"

"You are smart!" exclaimed Fred, clapping Scorpius on the back. "Yes, my friend, you'll have to do a little task... only if you're willing to join the Rapiers, of course..." James and Fred looked at Scorpius expectantly. Scorpius really wanted to join the Rapiers; not only would it be fun pulling pranks on people, but Fred, James and Louis were all really cool. Sure, Albus and Rose were popular because of their parents, but the Trio of Weasley cousins were the kind of people that _everyone _wanted to be around.

"Yeah," grinned Scorpius. "Tell me what I need to do."

* * *

That night, Scorpius found himself creeping through the halls of Hogwarts, keeping an eye out for anyone approaching. He glanced down at the Marauder's Map; no teacher or student was around. Cautiously looking over his shoulder, Scorpius draped James's Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders and took off towards the dungeons.

_"We have a bit of a bone to pick with a Slytherin named Caspian Goyle..."_

James and Fred's words rang through Scorpius's head as he descended the countless staircases below him. He was careful to be quiet; it was one o'clock in the morning, and if he was caught he would surely get a detention. Checking the Marauder's Map before he rounded the first-floor corridor, Scorpius bolted from the hall of staircases, quietly passing the strangely silent Great Hall.

_"He's been a sneaky little git to us ever since our first-year. Hiding behind statues and hexing us, blackmailing us, blabbing on us to teachers... you could say he's our arch-rival... anyway, we'd really like to shut him up once and for all..."_

Scorpius had reached the staircase leading down to the basement and sprinted down it, again checking the Marauder's Map to make sure no one was around. Glancing at it, Scorpius saw the mass of Hufflepuff names below the kitchens and guessed that this was where the Hufflepuff Common Room was. For a moment, Scorpius was transfixed by the delicious smell of food as he passed the kitchens, but was blasted back to reality when Fred and James's instructions played through his mind again.

_"It's Christmastime, so we thought we'd give him a little present... but it's too risky for us to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room. We're already on probation with Professor Tate, the deputy Head of School, so we need someone who has a clean slate to carry out our task..."_

Finally, Scorpius reached the long, dark staircase that descended into the dungeons. There was a moist, strange smell coming from down there; Scorpius let out a snort of disgust and slowly walked down the staircase. Every step he made seemed to magnify through the dark, damp dungeons; Scorpius's heart tightened with every 'pat' his foot made on the stone steps.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Scorpius nervously looked down at the Marauder's Map again. His stomach backflipped when he saw the name 'Professor Black' approaching him. Pressing himself against the narrow, stone wall; Scorpius pocketed the Marauder's Map and covered his heavily-breathing mouth with his hand.

Professor Black was holding a candle as he emerged from the corner of the corridor; glancing around suspiciously, the professor walked straight towards Scorpius. Scorpius's heart was racing; he got along fairly well with Professor Black due to the fact that Scorpius was highly interested in Transfiguration, but the Professor was not someone who Scorpius wanted to meet in the dungeons at the middle of the night. Holding his breath, Scorpius closed his eyes as the figure of Professor Black passed him.

A few moments passed and Scorpius let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed the Marauder's Map from his pocket and checked it; Professor Black was ascending the stairs of the dungeons and heading towards the kitchens. Knowing he had a limited amount of time to get to the Slytherin Common Room, Scorpius once again pocketed the Map and walked as fast and stealthy as he could towards the end of the dungeons.

Scorpius knew he had reached the Slytherin Common Room when he saw a statue of three silver serpents coiled around a beautifully-emerald-encrusted 'S' greet him at the end of the hallway. Remembering what James and Fred had told Scorpius about the statue, Scorpius nervously pressed the eye of the center serpent and backed away from it. Just as Fred and James had promised, the serpent statue melted into the ground, and a small, wooden door appeared.

His heart pounding faster than ever, Scorpius reached out his arm to the door and opened it. He walked through the stone passageway until he emerged in a dungeon-like room with glowing green lights around it. Scorpius realized that the room had a green tinge due to the fact that it was underwater; Scorpius could see the murky, green water of the lake flowing outside of the windows. Tapestries of duels and battles hung from the submerged windows. Green chairs were placed around the Common Room; Scorpius noticed that unlike the Gryffindor Common Room, the Slytherin Common Room contained many wooden cupboards where food was stored.

Taking his eyes away from the cold-looking Common Room; Scorpius made his way towards a flight of stairs that descended deeper underground. Scorpius quietly walked down the stairs until he emerged in a corridor. There were ornate wooden doors lined up along the stone corridor. On his right side, there were girls' dormitories with the numbers one through seven; Scorpius guessed that the number corresponded with one's year at Hogwarts. Looking to his left side, Scorpius walked through the corridor until he reached the door labeled '5'.

Scorpius slowly turned the handle and snuck into the dormitory. The dormitory was wooden and had windows that showed the murky waters of the Black Lake. There was a rushing, flowing sound of water overhead; Scorpius found the sound strangely relaxing. Each of the beds was a four-poster bed that had green curtains. Scorpius felt as if he was below-deck of a pirate ship.

Scorpius pulled out the Marauder's Map, tapping his wand to zoom closer in on the Slytherin Dungeons. He found himself walking around in a room branching off from the bottom corridor; next to him was a name labeled, 'Caspian Goyle'. _Perfect,_ thought Scorpius, glancing eagerly to his right. Stepping quietly over to the curtained bed, Scorpius opened the curtains.

A large, round figure was sleeping in the bed, a dribble of drool dripping out of his mouth. Curling his lip in disgust, Scorpius shoved the map into his pocket and pulled out a small bag. This bag was a knitted, purple case that James and Fred had given Scorpius; there was an Enlargement Charm inside of the bag. The bag contained a boggart. Grinning, Scorpius poked Caspian Goyle with one hand and released the boggart with another.

Caspian Goyle awoke with a gasp to a gigantic maggot squelching onto his bed. Screeching in fear, Goyle pushed himself out of bed and ran around the Common Room, screaming as the maggot continued to approach him. Absolutely disgusted by the maggot, Scorpius closed his eyes and backed out of the room, swinging the door open and bolting out as he left.

When he ascended the staircase in the Common Room, he could still hear the bellows and yells of Goyle as the maggot followed him around his dorm room. There was the sound of footsteps as all of the Slytherin dormitories awoke and packed into Goyle's dorm; there were murmurs as the Slytherins wondered aloud what the loud, screeching noise was. Scorpius was sniggering so badly that he almost ran into Professor Black, who had just sprinted into the Common Room, a worried expression on his face.

Pumping his fist in the air with joy, Scorpius practically skipped out of the Slytherin Common Room, an adrenaline rush coursing through his veins. His only regret was not sending the boggart on Damien Macnair; but he could always do that later. After all, he was a Rapier now!

* * *

The plot has been really slow so far, but I'm just trying to build up friendships before the actual plot explodes. There will be action very, very soon... (next chapter) ;) Please review, follow and favorite! It's what motivates me to keep writing.. x


	9. E I G H T

**Chapter Eight: Malfoy Maniac**

_Dear Albus,_

_I'm glad to hear that you're having a fun time in Gryffindor! You should be proud to be Sorted in such a noble House; but you know I would've been proud of you even if you were a Slytherin. I'm happy to hear that the Quidditch team finally won (I couldn't stand listening to Mr. Macmillan strutting around the Ministry and bragging about Hufflepuff for another moment). But don't worry about the Seeker position being filled - I got on the team by pure luck; I'm sure you'll grab the spot next year!_

_I love hearing about how you're becoming good friends with Scorpius Malfoy. His father and I never quite saw eye-to-eye, but it's good to see that you're putting your differences aside and giving Scorpius a chance. Very interesting how he was picked to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, as his father was never a Chaser, but I'm glad that he's contributing positively to the team._

_In regards for having Scorpius over for Christmas - I'm not sure that'd be the best idea. The Weasleys have a history of conflict with the Malfoys, and I'm sure Scorpius's parents would be uncomfortable with the thought of him staying here. It would just create a lot of unneeded tension... I'm sorry, Al - I've already gotten multiple letters from James and Headmaster Flitwick over the incident with the vampires (they've been tracked and are in Azkaban, don't worry), and I know that James and the rest of the cousins really like him, but I just don't think it's right._

_Sorry, bud - keep working hard in your classes._

_See you Christmas,_

_Dad_

Scorpius felt his heart sink deeper into his chest after every word he read. Glancing up at an upset Albus and Rose, Scorpius handed the letter to them, shrugging. "He has a point, I guess," Scorpius muttered sadly, picking at his breakfast; he had lost his appetite. "My dad never would've said yes anyway, since my grandfather's been allowed to visit this Christmas..."

Scorpius had received a letter from his father the same time Albus was given a letter from Mr. Potter. Rose was now reading over Scorpius's letter, a frown on her face.

_Dear Scorpius -_

_I'm so proud to hear that you're excelling on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I've sent an owl to Professor Longbottom about attending one of your games and he says that's perfectly alright - I think I'll be going to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match in mid-February. Although I'm sad that you won't be sporting green and silver, I'll still be rooting for you._

_Strange to hear how you're befriending the two Potter boys and the Weasley cousins... I'm surprised they're being nice to you. The Malfoys and the Weasleys have clashed many times the past few decades; Albus, Fred, James and Rose's grandfather, Arthur, and my father, Lucius, did not get along at all. In a similar fashion, I was not very close to any of the Weasleys during my Hogwarts years. I'll be interested to hear if your friendship can last despite the deep rivalry between our families. Although the Weasleys are purebloods, my father always considered them blood-traitors._

_Speaking of my father, Lucius is allowed to visit us for Christmas and is delighted to see you. I think you've only been able to see him a couple of times - you know that he's on house arrest for conspiring with Ministry officials to kill Minister Shacklebolt - but I think that we should put all thoughts aside for now; he is family, after all._

_Hoping you are well -_

_Dad_

"Your father wouldn't of let you come anyway; he says it right here," Rose pointed out. She still looked a little disappointed, and there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "It'll be... nice, to be able to see your grandfather for Christmas, right, Scorpius?"

Scorpius understood that Rose was trying to cheer him up, but it wasn't working. His father had avoided Scorpius's grandfather for years; it was strange that his grandfather all of the sudden wanted to visit them for Christmas. Scorpius knew that there had to be some sort of tracking device on him or that Ministry officials would be guarding him the whole time. _Merry Christmas, _Scorpius thought glumly, stabbing a piece of his egg to show his anger.

* * *

Scorpius said good-bye to the Potters and the Weasleys as they exited the train and entered Platform 9 3/4. Fred and James were very disappointed that Scorpius couldn't attend the huge Weasley Christmas, but they wished Scorpius luck at his house and told him that they had the best Rapier prank waiting for him when they got back.

Rose and Albus wished Scorpius luck as well; the whole time, they cast mutinous and angry glances at their parents as they hugged Scorpius good-bye. Scorpius noticed that Mr. Ron Weasley and Mr. Potter were staring at him the whole time and muttering to each other. Scorpius looked at them defiantly before stalking away to his father, who was looking at the Weasleys with interest.

"Where's mum?" asked Scorpius as he gripped his father's arm; they were to Side-Along Apparate out of King's Cross.

"She's a bit ill, buddy," A shadow crossed Draco's face and he looked highly concerned. Scorpius noticed that there were bags under his eyes and a gray tinge to his skin; it was if he wasn't eating or sleeping.

"What d'you mean, ill?" Scorpius said, his stomach knotting. "Like, a cold ill, or - "

" - She's in St. Mungo's," interrupted Draco, his voice slightly quavering. "A disease - she's been sick for awhile - "

Scorpius turned to his father, his lip curled. He felt his body shake with fear and anger. "Why didn't you _tell _me?" Scorpius hissed, glaring at his father. "There was no mention of her in any of the letters you wrote to me. I should've known since she hasn't written me any letters, but you should have _told _me, Dad, she's my mother - "

" - and she's my wife," growled Draco, returning Scorpius's glare. "I didn't want to worry you at school because you were doing so well; star Quidditch player, excelling in the classroom, making some _interesting _friendships... I didn't want to ruin your time at Hogwarts, you seemed like you were having fun..."

"Yeah," Scorpius said bitterly, taking his father's arm. He figured that his father was right in not telling him; Scorpius had been having the best time at Hogwarts, after all. "Yeah, I guess I was."

His father looked at him, and Scorpius saw a trace of sadness in his father's gray eyes. Suddenly, there was a loud 'crack!' and Scorpius knew he was Apparating; there was the awful, strange feeling of being shoved through a thin tube. His eyes popped out as he gasped for breath; right when he felt like he was going to suffocate, he emerged at his mansion.

There were two servants waiting for Draco and Scorpius when the father and son Apparated inside of the mansion. They each bowed to Draco and Scorpius and took their coats. "Come, Scorpius," Draco said in an oddly formal tone. Raising his eyebrow in confusion, Scorpius followed his father through their mansion until they reached their living room.

It was a humongous room with a large, marble-carved fireplace. It had a high ceiling with a beautiful chandelier hanging from it. Underneath the chandelier was an exquisite red carpet; on top of this carpet were large, comfortable-looking chairs. Tapestries of the Malfoy, Black and Greengrass family trees hung on the walls. The beautiful large windows showed rolling hills covered in snow.

In one of the chairs sat a pale, blonde-haired man with icy gray eyes. He had a pointed chin; Scorpius almost stopped in his tracks when he realized that the man looked just like Scorpius and his father. He had seen Lucius Malfoy before, but the last time Draco allowed Scorpius to visit his grandfather's house was when Scorpius was eight.

Scorpius sat on the chair across from his grandfather and his grandfather nodded to him in greeting. His grandfather then looked at Draco, who had begin to sit down. "Draco, I would like to speak to my grandson alone," Lucius said, his eyes sparkling. Scorpius felt his stomach backflip and tried to will his father not to leave with his eyes, but Draco didn't disobey a direct order.

"Alright," Draco said, standing up to leave. He approached the servants at the door; Scorpius guessed he asked them to leave, because they backed out of the door and shut it. Scorpius felt highly suspicious; there was something wrong. What did Lucius have to say to him that he couldn't say in front of Draco?

"Scorpius..." Scorpius glanced over to his grandfather. With a pang in his stomach, he realized that Lucius was carrying a wand.

"Why do you have that wand? I thought yours was confiscated," Scorpius glared down at Lucius's wand.

"Your father was foolish enough to drop it when he stood up," spat Lucius, upset at Scorpius's lack of respect. "I just want to talk to you, Scorpius... you're so suspicious..." Scorpius glanced up to his grandfather and realized that he was wearing a strange symbol around his neck. It was a circle with a cross in it. Confused, Scorpius opened his mouth to ask about it, but his grandfather interrupted.

"I hear you're making friends with the Weasley clan at Hogwarts," Lucius continued, his eyes trained on Scorpius, "I don't think it's a good idea to be running around with riff-raff like them. I heard that the Macnair boy is attending Hogwarts the same year as you... a Slytherin, I presume?"

"I'm not becoming friends with someone like Macnair," growled Scorpius. "He tried to kill my friends."

"You're spitting on your pureblood lineage by befriending a family of blood-traitors!" snarled Lucius, his eyes becoming wild. "I knew I should have had a part in your parenting. Draco is too soft. He allowed you to associate yourself with _half-bloods _and _blood-traitors_..."

"I don't _care _if I'm a pureblood," retorted Scorpius. "Those _half-bloods _and _blood-traitors _are better people than those Slytherin scumbags."

"Your father made a respectful pureblood marriage," hissed Lucius, standing up abruptly. "He brought you up with all the riches and royalty that pureblood wizards enjoy... do you see any Mudbloods living like this? And then you _disrespect_ the Malfoy, Black and Greengrass name by being Sorted into _Gryffindor _and befriending the Potters and the Weasleys..."

"I already said that I don't care," Scorpius said, standing up and walking to the door, "If you're here to talk to me about our stupid pureblood lineage, then - "

"_Crucio!_" Scorpius realized what was happening the moment Lucius uttered the Unforgivable Curse. Suddenly, there was a feeling of a thousand white-hot knives plunging into all corners of Scorpius's body at once. Writhing and squirming, Scorpius screamed in pain as the curse's power increased. He begged for Lucius to stop; this hurt so badly, please make it stop...

As quickly as it started, the pain ended, and Scorpius fell to the ground, limp. His breathing was coming in ragged, strained gasps. He heard footsteps approach him as Lucius walked over to his semi-conscious grandson. "You will _not _associate yourself with them anymore. You will respect your noble pureblood lineage, and you will not protest against me."

"No," Scorpius whispered, his body shaking from the shock and pain he had just experienced, "N-no. I won't let you screw up everything I've worked for."

"Worked for?" growled Lucius. "And what exactly have you 'worked for' in your eleven years, Scorpius Hyperion?"

"I had to work to earn my classmate's respect," hissed Scorpius, "When I was Sorted into Gryffindor, I had no friends. Even the teachers were wary of me. I proved I was different than you, and now I have the best friends I've ever had."

"You're a pathetic excuse for a grandson," hissed Lucius. "_Crucio!_"

This pain was worse than the first time. Scorpius felt himself twisting and turning in the air, screaming in absolute pain. It only lasted a few seconds, though; Scorpius felt himself collapse to the ground as screams echoed around him. Squinting one eye open, Scorpius saw that his father had opened the door and was bellowing at his father.

"What the _hell _are you doing to my son?" he yelled, trying to grab his wand from his father's hand. "Give me back my wand, father - "

"_Flatus_!" Lucius yelled with the flick of his wand. Draco was flown backwards; he crashed into the wall with the sickening 'thud!' and fell to the ground. He quickly recovered and stood up, snarling at his father.

"What _happened _to you?" Draco asked, a flicker of fear shadowing his face. "You never would have harmed me _or _my son ten years ago - "

" - I would've harmed anyone if they got in the way of the family name!" Lucius spat at Draco. "Now leave, Draco, I need to teach my grandson a lesson - "

"No," Draco said, stepping in front of Scorpius. "You're not hurting my son."

"Get out of the way," Lucius's lip curled. "I don't want to hurt you, too..."

Draco, realizing that he didn't have a wand, was stuck. If he sacrificed himself, the torturing would continue. He had one choice: find help. Glancing at Scorpius, he bowed his head and whispered to Scorpius out of the corner of his mouth. "Just pretend to listen to him," Draco said, defeated. "I-I'm going to go get help, alright? Just listen to him, and he won't hurt you. He used to do it to me."

Looking up at his father, Draco nodded gravely. "I-I'll leave," he said, shielding his face as he opened the door and exited the room.

_No,_ Scorpius thought, his eyes widening as his grandfather approached him, a malicious smile on his face. _No, Dad, please help..._

* * *

Hello all,

It's getting to the point where I'm becoming highly discouraged. I've put hours and hours of work into this project, and the amount of reviews, follows and favorites I have received is really disheartening. Unless my story can get some more attention in the next two chapters, I'm going to have to cancel it. I worked really hard on the plot so it's very disappointing to me, but there's just no point in continuing this if people aren't paying attention to it.

Much thanks, Clover x


	10. N I N E

**Chapter Nine: Dearest Draco**

Draco sprinted through his house, searching for a jar of Floo Powder. The only thoughts racing through his head were of his son. _I knew I shouldn't have let my father into my house, _he thought. _I should've checked on his mental state before allowing him over here. He hasn't been himself... ever since mother died..._

When he located the jar on the table next to his bedroom fireplace, Draco smashed it open and grabbed a handful of the silvery powder. Ignoring his servants who attempted to assist him, Draco launched himself into the nearest fireplace. He threw the powder over his head and exclaimed, "Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic!"

There was an explosion of green flames and Draco felt himself being transported between numerous fireplaces; he felt terribly sick transporting by Floo powder, and the guilty knots twisting in his stomach just made him feel even worse. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Draco felt himself being launched into the fireplace of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Coughing and sputtering, Draco opened his eyes and saw that he had arrived inside of a neat, beautifully decorated office. Dusting off his shoulders, he strode towards the desk inside of the office, quickly searching for a nameplate so that he figure out who to contact. Everything on the desk was perfectly organized; it took about a second for Draco to be able to identify the owner of the office. His stomach clenched when he read the nameplate in front of the desk: Hermione Jean Granger, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. _Granger._

As if on cue, the door opened behind Draco. The concerned father spun around to see Hermione Granger walk into her office, the papers in her arms dropping and fluttering around when she saw who was standing next to her desk. Her eyes widened as she bent down to collect her papers, but Draco placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Gr-Hermione, please help me," Draco begged, his desperate icy gray eyes meeting her confused brown ones. "It's my son, Scorpius - my grandfather's been home and he stole my wand and is torturing my son - I-I didn't know where else to go except for here - "

"How about trying the Auror's office?" Hermione asked dryly; clearly, she did not want to help Draco.

"Potter wouldn't help me," spat Draco bitterly. "I didn't even know you were the Head of the Department of - whatever - but look, please, time is running out and he's hurting my boy, Hermione. Scorpius is the only family I have - "

"Your wife?"

"St. Mungo's," Draco was starting to get impatient. "_Please_, just hurry up, please..."

"I'm afraid I can't help you," Hermione said, turning out of the room. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement holds trials for Dark wizards; we do not catch them. But come on, follow me, I know someone who can help you."

"Can we hurry this up?" Draco asked impatiently as Hermione wove through the various Ministry cubicles. They passed a bunch of different offices, but Draco didn't take the time to notice what the names of them were; his son was in grave danger, and Hermione Granger seemed to be taking her sweet time. "Look, I know you don't _care_, but my son, my _only _son, Scorpius is being tortured under the _freaking Cruciatus Curse_ as we speak and there's a chance he might be dead by the time we get back, so I really need you to hurry up or at least _show _you care!"

"I'm trying to remain calm to keep _you _calm, Malf - ahem, Draco," Hermione responded. She opened a door labeled 'Auror Office', but before she entered, Draco pulled the sleeve of her shirt back.

"Hold on," he growled. "I don't _want _Potter's help. I don't want to owe Potter anything - "

"You're not going to owe him anything," Hermione looked as if she was going to roll her eyes in exasperation. "This is his _job_, Draco. Your son's life is on the line here; would you rather sit back and watch Scorpius be killed or have someone save him?" Hermione turned around to open the door when she saw Draco's worried expression; the choice was obvious for Draco. His son was the only thing in the world he had ever loved; he had to save him.

"Harry," Hermione said upon entering the Office. Potter's office was the first office in the maze of cubicles; currently, he was reading through the _Daily Prophet _with his eyebrows furrowed. When he heard Hermione's voice, he glanced up; he frowned in confusion when he saw Draco.

Hermione stepped aside so that Draco could address Potter. Potter stood up and shook Draco's hand; Draco stopped himself from glaring at Potter when he decided that he would have to remain civil. "Uh, what's the matter, Draco?" asked Potter, looking uncomfortable and awkward.

Draco plunged into the story about Scorpius and Lucius. As he finished with a desperate 'please', he noticed that Potter looked distinctly worried and even upset. Straightening his glasses, Potter called, "Ron! Ernie!" Weasley and Macmillan, a Hufflepuff when Draco was at Hogwarts, immediately emerged from behind the cubicles, wands at the ready. "Fetch the Azkaban guards and bring them to Malfoy Mansion, _not _the Malfoy Manor." They both nodded and sprinted out of the door.

Potter turned his attention to Draco. "So let me get this straight, you ditched your son who was under the bloody _Cruciatus Curse _and ran to the Ministry for help? You didn't even try to step in front of him and defend him?" Draco frowned in annoyance while Potter looked absolutely disgusted.

"I told you, my father stole _my _wand and threatened me with it," growled Draco, making every effort possible to not anger Potter. "He cast the Exploding Curse on me and threatened to kill me. I didn't want my son to witness my death and I didn't want him to be killed. I had no choice but to run to the Ministry for help; Lucius would've killed me if I hadn't left my house! Scorpius my only family left, Potter, _please_..."

"I'll help him," Potter said, briskly walking to the fireplace and grabbing a handful of Floo powder. Draco was grateful that Potter didn't ask him about his last statement; Astoria's condition in St. Mungo's was only known between the Malfoys and Draco wanted to keep it that way.

"Come with me, Draco," said Potter, throwing the powder into the fireplace. The fire turned a bright, emerald green; Draco was transfixed by it as Potter began to bark orders. "Hermione, I want you to send a message to Minister Shacklebolt. We will have to have a trial about this incident soon - " Potter turned to the fireplace and motioned for Draco to leap into it with him. Jumping into the fire, Potter and Draco yelled, "Malfoy Mansion!"

A flash of green flames surrounded the two former rivals and they vanished from the fireplace.

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Thought I'd do a chapter in Draco's POV... please please please review! xx


	11. T E N

**Chapter Ten: Scorpius's Story**

Scorpius fell onto the ground, writhing and twitching. He was floating in and out of consciousness; every part of his body ached and hurt. The eleven-year-old felt tears stream down his eyes as his grandfather approached him. Scorpius squinted one eye open and saw that Lucius was pointing a wand at him. "Again?" Lucius murmured.

"I-I won't associate myself with blood-traitors," gasped Scorpius, desperate for the torture to stop. The pain was too much; Scorpius was at the point where he had to lie in order to escape the awful curse. _Where's my father? Where's my mum? Did everyone leave me here with this awful person? _"I'll spy on them to receive information... t-to tell you..."

"Good," Lucius smiled. "I'm glad we understand each other." His footsteps receded and Scorpius held his breath. Did Lucius finally stop torturing him? But then, there was another mutter from the other side of the room and Scorpius's heart stopped. "However... I'd like the message to _sink in... Crucio_!"

Scorpius screamed and sobbed as pain whipped and lashed his body; his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he opened his mouth, begging for Lucius to stop...

"Stop right there! _Expelliarmus!_" The door burst open and Scorpius heard two sets of feet charge into the room. One voice which Scorpius didn't recognize had cast the Disarming Spell; the other footsteps had run over his way. Scorpius felt a large figure kneel over him and shake him slightly.

"Scorpius? Scorpius, are you all right?" It was his father. Draco had come to save him!

"D-dad!" sobbed Scorpius, clinging onto his father. He was still twitching in pain; the piercing knives had not yet left his body. However, Scorpius was mainly inflicted with physical pain; his mind, although slightly scarred by the torture he had just received, was not permanently maimed.

"Scorpius, are you okay? Do I need to take you to St. Mungo's?" Scorpius's father propped him up against a chair and for the first time Scorpius fully opened his eyes.

Harry Potter - or Mr. Potter as Scorpius was supposed to refer to him by - was confronting Lucius Malfoy. Harry was holding Draco's wand in his left hand and his own wand in his right. While he was doing this, he was waving his wand and muttering an incantation that Scorpius was unable to hear. Suddenly, ropes appeared out of thin air and coiled around Lucius's arms and legs. Scorpius's grandfather was glaring at Mr. Potter with utmost hatred.

"Lucius Malfoy, you will be taken to Azkaban for a lifetime sentence due to the fact that you used an Unforgivable Curse. You will be charged even harsher because you have done the disgusting act of performing this curse on a minor - " Lucius muttered something under his breath, " - and you will most likely lose all of your possessions," Mr. Potter glanced over to Draco, who was still caring for Scorpius. "Draco, can you guard your father while I talk to Scorpius?"

Draco nodded and stood up, giving Scorpius a reassuring pat on the back. He then turned to Mr. Potter, a cold look of hatred in his eyes. When Draco spoke, Scorpius realized that this hatred wasn't directed to Mr. Potter, but to Lucius. "Yes, Harry - but do not refer to him as my father. After tonight, Lucius Malfoy isn't my father anymore." Mr. Potter nodded and passed Draco's wand to Scorpius's father as Mr. Potter walked over to Scorpius.

Mr. Potter bent down to talk to Scorpius; his bright green eyes met Scorpius's icy gray. "How're you doing, Scorpius?" Mr. Potter asked, a new warmth in his eyes. _Funny, you were just glaring at me with Mr. Ron Weasley at King's Cross before this whole incident, _Scorpius thought bitterly.

"Fine," Scorpius said shortly. "I don't need to go to St. Mungo's. I'm not ill or anything."

"I wasn't going to send you to St. Mungo's," Mr. Potter said softly. "I just need to ask you a few things, because I'm sure your grandfather won't tell the truth and he probably knows how to resist Veritaserum. Can you do that for me?"

Scorpius looked down at the ground for a moment. The pain still hadn't quite left him, but he didn't want to show a sign of weakness in front of Albus and James's dad. "Yes," Scorpius answered.

"Can you tell me everything that happened tonight?" Mr. Potter asked quietly. "I want to know how exactly your grandfather came here and why he performed the Cruciatus Curse on you."

Scorpius took a deep breath and began his story. He noticed that Draco was listening intently, while Lucius appeared to be passed out. "I received a letter from my father about my grandfather coming over for Christmas," Scorpius explained. "I think Lucius was allowed to visit our house since he didn't have a wand and I'm sure that the Ministry was tracking him to make sure he didn't leave when he was here. Anyway, when I came home from King's Cross - " There was a flicker of guilt in Harry's eyes, " - he was waiting here in this room. I sat down and Lucius asked my father to leave. As my dad was leaving, his wand fell out of his back pocket and onto the rug. The rug's soft, so my dad didn't hear the sound of his wand dropping as he left the room. I suppose Lucius picked it up, because the next thing I knew, he was holding it.

"He started to question me about your family and the Weasley family. He wasn't prying; he was just wondering why I was hanging around with them when I could be friends with Death-Eater grandchildren like Macnair, Wren Dolohov and Thor Rowle. My grandfather told me I was spitting on my pureblood lineage by befriending blood traitors and half-bloods, and I said to him that I didn't care about being a pureblood - " Again, a guilty shadow crossed Mr. Potter's face for a moment, " - and he said that my father had made a respectful pureblood marriage and I was stomping on that, too. He blamed me for being a Gryffindor and how I was a disgrace or whatever. I repeated that I didn't care about being a pureblood and that's when his eyes got all wild and he used the Cruciatus Curse the first time on me - "

Draco looked as if he was seeing a boggart, while Mr. Potter's expression was absolutely disgusted. Mr. Potter cut in to interrupt Scorpius's story. " - One moment before you continue, Scorpius - do you remember exactly how many times Mr. Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse on you?"

Scorpius thought for a moment; however, he could not come to a sure answer. It was definitely more than five times; to Scorpius, the torture had all seemed to blur together after awhile. "At least five," Scorpius murmured. Draco swayed; Scorpius thought he was going to faint for a moment until he recovered, clutching the nearest chair. Mr. Potter nodded gravely and asked for Scorpius to continue.

" - and after that, my grandfather started saying stuff to me," Scorpius said. "Stuff like, 'you will _not _associate yourself with the Potters or the Weasleys' and 'you will listen to my orders'. And I told him that I wasn't going to ruin everything I've worked for just for the title of being a pureblood..."

"What do you mean, 'everything you've worked for'?" Mr. Potter asked, he didn't seem suspicious but genuinely curious.

Scorpius smiled wryly. "That's what he asked, too," Scorpius said, pointing at an unstirring Lucius. "And I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him, Mr. Potter. Ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, I've been stared at and judged. People read the papers; the _Daily Prophet _still does reports on old Death Eaters and the Malfoys are always listed as the only ones who escaped imprisonment..."

Draco looked immensely guilty; his eyes were trained onto his shoes. Ignoring this, Scorpius continued: "On the train, I tried to befriend Albus and Rose, but they didn't want anything to do with me. And then, the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor. I thought everything would be better, I thought that people would finally realize that I'm nothing like Lucius. But everything became worse. Fred, Louis and James bullied me everyday, even when I was put on the Quidditch team. I was one of the most hated kids in Gryffindor. But then, the vampire incident happened, and your sons, nephews and nieces finally looked at me as a friend. It's funny how you have to do something incredible like that to finally earn people's respect. I had endured months of bullying, teasing and torture; but to me, it was all worth it. I love my new friends, my Quidditch team, and my House. I wasn't going to sacrifice becoming someone who I promised myself I'd never be just for my stuck-up grandfather."

Mr. Potter was looking at Scorpius; he seemed very interested. He nodded, impressed, to Draco, who was looking incredibly proud of Scorpius, yet there was still a guilty expression in his father's eyes. Scorpius knew that Draco had probably undergone torture like Scorpius in his life; not physical torture, but mental torture. Draco had no choice in becoming a Death Eater; his family's choices made him become one.

After a moment of silence, Scorpius decided to push on with his story. Scorpius expected that telling his story would be painful, but it was immensely liberating to tell someone the pain he had gone through the last few months and today. "Lucius told me I was pathetic, and did the curse on me again. It only lasted for a few seconds, though; my dad walked in and yelled at Lucius. He tried to get his wand back, but Lucius did some spell that exploded him backwards. Dad immediately got up and put himself in front of me, but Grandfather threatened to hurt him.

"Dad knew that there was no point in sacrificing himself when either way we would both be hurt, so he ran to get help. But before he left, he told me to lie and listen to my grandfather so I didn't get tortured. I listened to him, but only because I realized that if I lied, I might be able to get more information on my grandfather's motives. I figured there had to be a reason why he was so intent on torturing me after I had mentioned the Weasleys. I figured out that he wanted me to spy on the your family, Mr. Potter, and the Weasleys. He told me that I would have to contact Damien Macnair, a boy in Slytherin in my year, about an object that he was searching for at Hogwarts. I don't remember what it was, though, Mr. Potter. I'm really sorry. And then, right when he was torturing me again, you and my dad walked in and saved me."

Draco was shooting mutinous, disgusted glares at Lucius while Mr. Potter was looking thoroughly impressed. "You have a sharp mind, Scorpius. It's no wonder I hear from Ron that you're giving his daughter, Rose, a run for her Galleons in the classroom. It was very clever of you to use Lucius's torturing for information, but everything that happened to you tonight is much too heavy for an eleven-year-old to handle..." Scorpius noticed that Mr. Potter had been looking slightly concerned ever since Scorpius confessed that Lucius had been trying to get Scorpius to spy on his family.

"I want you to get some rest, Scorpius," Mr. Potter said at last, resting a hand on Scorpius's arm. "You've had a very long, tough night. I've contacted a Healer from St. Mungo's and she will be here tomorrow to attend to your wounds - no, I do not think you're going mad - but you just endured at least five Cruciatus Curses. That's enough to make some people to go mad..." Mr. Potter suddenly looked haunted, but a moment later his calm visage returned.

As he was opening his mouth to speak, four wizards entered the room, their wands drawn. Scorpius recognized one of the wizards as Ron Weasley, who glanced at Scorpius and Draco with a look of sadness and extreme guilt. The other wizard, who struck Scorpius as slightly pompous, immediately pointed his wand at Lucius while the other two, who were very muscular and burly, picked up Lucius by his underarms and began to drag him out of the room.

"Ernie," Mr. Potter pointed to the two men pulling Lucius out of the door. "Go with those two wizards and make sure that they arrive to Azkaban safely. Then, go to the Ministry and give this - " Harry pulled out a long, silvery strand out of his head and flasked it. " - to Hermione Granger. She'll know what to do. Remind her that this is only to be used as court testimony since I don't think it's right for Scorpius to face his grandfather again..." Ernie nodded, grabbed the flask and sprinted out of the room.

"Ron, I want you to take Scorpius to the Burrow," When Mr. Ron Weasley looked doubtful, Mr. Potter gave him a hard stare. "After all Scorpius has been through, he needs to be around friends right now. I'm sure that there will be room for him in Albus, James, Fred, Hugo and Louis's bunkroom. Draco will soon join him - " When Draco began to protest, Mr. Potter gave an angry shake of his head. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement will need to investigate and close off the house for a few days, anyway, Draco. You need to be with your son, as well - but you won't be going with him right now, I need you to help me."

Mr. Potter fixed his bright green eyes on Scorpius. "You'll be safe at the Burrow," Mr. Potter promised, motioning to Mr. Ron Weasley. "Go with Mr. Weasley; he'll Apparate you safely to the Burrow. I trust you have your wand?" Scorpius nodded. "Alright, then. Thanks for your strength Scorpius, I'm sure I'll see you soon. Ron, can you help Scorpius? He's a little shaky - "

" - I'm fine," Scorpius interrupted, not wanting to show weakness to the skeptical Mr. Ron Weasley. It hurt like hell to stand up, and Scorpius's knees were shaking madly, but Scorpius was able to make his way over to his father and hug him. Draco gripped him tightly and for the first time, Scorpius noticed that there were tears pouring down his father's face.

"Don't be sad," Scorpius willed his father, staring up at him. "I'm alright, Dad; you saved me. Everything's alright." _Except for mom..._

Draco looked highly doubtful, and Scorpius knew that he was sharing Scorpius's thoughts about Astoria. "I'm just glad you're safe," Draco said. "Now, Scorp, go with Weas - uh, Ron - he'll bring you to his parents' house. I'll be there soon."

"Okay," Scorpius said, letting go of his father and staggering over to Mr. Ron Weasley. Mr. Ron Weasley gave him an encouraging, half-sort of smile; Scorpius recognized this expression as pity. He didn't want Mr. Ron Weasley, who Scorpius always saw glaring at him, to pity Scorpius. Scorpius turned away from Mr. Ron Weasley and looked at Mr. Potter. He had the same pitying visage on his face which made Scorpius a little annoyed. However, Scorpius still had the courtesy nod respectfully to his savior. "Thank you, Mr. Potter."

"See you soon," Mr. Potter said as Scorpius gripped Mr. Ron Weasley's arm in preparation for Side-Along Apparition. There was a sudden intake of breath from Mr. Ron Weasley, and Scorpius felt the familiar feeling of suffocation and the sensation of being shoved through a tiny tube. The last thing Scorpius saw was the bright green of Mr. Potter's eyes, staring straight at him, and then everything went black.

* * *

Scorpius loved the Burrow, even though it appeared to be very small. Mr. Ron Weasley had told Scorpius that it had to be expanded with an Enlargement Charm due to the arrival of new cousins; but to Scorpius, it looked like the perfect home. His mansion was so material and stiff; this house was cozy and friendly-looking. Mr. Ron Weasley told Scorpius that none of the cousins lived here, but the house had to be extended because all of the cousins spent time here during the summer, Christmas and Easter breaks.

When they entered the Burrow, Mr. Ron Weasley had snuck upstairs to alert his parents about what had happened and the new guests that would be arriving soon. As Scorpius waited for Mr. Ron Weasley to return from upstairs, he wandered into a warm-looking living room and found that a red-headed girl was passed out on the couch. Virtually all of the female Weasley cousins had the same shade of red hair, except for Roxanne, so Scorpius wasn't quite sure who it was. As he approached the Weasley, he was able to discern the girl's sloped nose and younger, softer features; Scorpius recognized the girl as Rose Weasley.

Smiling with glee, Scorpius shakily sat down next to her and tapped her shoulder until she stirred. Her eyes opened blearily as she looked around for the source of the tapping. When her eyes locked on Scorpius, she gave a terrified little jump as if she had just seen a ghost. "Scorpius?" she asked doubtfully, peering closer and poking Scorpius to make sure she wasn't dreaming, "What're you doing here?"

"Long story," Scorpius said. "But I have to stay here for the night, or maybe a few; I don't have anywhere else to go. But the real question is, what are _you _doing sprawled out on this couch at one o'clock in the morning?"

"I-I dunno," Rose admitted, sounding slightly confused. Her eyes traveled to the floor, where a large book lay. Scorpius peered at the title; it was called: _Brilliant Witches from Ancient to Modern History_. It looked terribly boring to Scorpius. Rose looked a little embarrassed as Scorpius examined the book. "I must've fallen asleep while reading a book. It happens a lot."

"Huh," Scorpius said, placing the book on a stray table and peering around the room. It was decorated for Christmas; there was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with lights flickering around it. Holly and pine garlands were draped around the fireplace, walls and windows. Handknit stockings hung from the fireplace and glittering lights twinkled on the ceiling. Scorpius had never seen such festive decorations at any house before; his family had never ordered a Christmas tree. His Christmases consisted of just gift-giving; there was never any warm or cozy memories affiliated with the holiday. "This house is beautiful," Scorpius breathed in awe.

"It's nice, isn't it?" said Rose fondly. "I love coming here during the holidays. We had to really expand the house as more and more kids starting coming. We put an Enlargement Charm on most of the bedrooms, so they're bunkrooms now. Speaking of bed, what are you doing down here? Do you want me to take you upstairs to show you where all of the boys are sleeping?"

"Sure," Scorpius said, yawning. He was so tired and sore from the awful night he had just experienced. "Is there any room in there for me?"

"I think so," Rose said, standing up. Scorpius stood up as well and followed her out of the living room. "How many boys are there? Hm... there's Louis, Fred, James, Albus, Hugo and Teddy - " She glanced at Scorpius's confused expression and explained, "Teddy Lupin is Uncle Harry's godson. He's also dating my cousin Victoire, and he always comes for the holidays with his grandmother, Andromeda. Anyway, there's four bunkbeds and six boys, so there's definitely room for you."

She led him through the kitchen and towards the closed, wooden staircase branching off of the kitchen. The stairs looked very old; Rose and Scorpius had to creep quietly up the stairs so that they didn't step on a creaky stair and wake up the entire house. As they ascended the stairs, Scorpius saw a shadow move and Mr. Ron Weasley emerged. "Hi, Rosie," he said, smiling at his daughter. He looked past his daughter to Scorpius. "Showing our guest his room, then?"

"Yes, Dad," Rose responded.

"Okay," Mr. Ron Weasley replied. He cast a suspicious glance at Scorpius; Scorpius had the feeling that Mr. Ron Weasley was extremely protective over his only daughter. _I'm only eleven, you idiot._ Scorpius wanted to say aloud. However, Scorpius was tired, he was still shaking from the pain, he wanted to go to bed, and he _really_ couldn't take Mr. Ron Weasley's glares right now. Bumping into Rose to signal her to hurry up, they said good-night to Mr. Ron Weasley and continued to climb up the stairs. Rose stopped once they reached the second landing.

"Follow me," she whispered, casting a nervous glance down the stairs towards her father, who had just exited at the first landing. Scorpius followed Rose down a narrow corridor; doors lined the left side of the hallway. Scorpius scanned the names of the rooms as he passed by them.

The first door was labeled "Bill"; the second, "Charlie"; the third, "Ginny"; and the fourth, "Boys". Rose quietly opened the door labeled "Boys" and motioned for Scorpius to use the "_Lumos!_" spell. Whispering the incantation, Scorpius crept into the room, Rose following behind him. Scorpius glanced around the room and saw that three of the four bunks were completely filled. A scruffy, older-looking blonde-haired boy was occupying the bottom bunk of the first bunk while James snored on the top one; Scorpius guessed that the blonde-haired boy was Teddy. He passed the second bunk to find that Louis and Fred were bunkmates. The third bunk had an unrecognizable, small red-haired boy sleeping soundlessly in it; he kind of resembled Rose. Scorpius assumed this was Hugo. He caught a glimpse of Albus's black, messy hair on the top bunk.

"You can choose whichever bunk you want," whispered Rose, pointing to the fourth and final bunk bed in the rows of bunks. Scorpius, figuring that his father would probably crash on the bottom bunk when he arrived, chose to sleep on the top bunk. He said good-bye and thank-you to Rose as he climbed on top of the bunk and whispered, "_Nox_." to estinguish the wandlight.

It took him only two minutes to fall asleep; the shaky, twitching boy was beyond exhausted. The incident with Lucius seemed weeks away even though it had happened only hours before. Scorpius's last thought before he drifted into darkness was the wonderful coziness and sense of family that Scorpius immediately loved about the Burrow; he had already felt at home and hadn't even been at the house for an hour.

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I've decided to try continuing the story for now. Thanks for the reviews, keep them up! :) x


	12. E L E V E N

**Chapter Eleven: Christmas at the Burrow**

"What are _you _doing here?"

Scorpius opened his eyes wearily to find a blurry, pale, slightly freckled face staring down at him. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to focus them, Scorpius was able to pick out the bright green eyes of Albus Potter. He was peering into Scorpius's bed, a confused look on his face. Scorpius realized that Albus had just asked him a question; the question was not in an accusatory tone, but a happy and friendly one.

"Whadd'ya mean?" mumbled Scorpius, sitting up in his bed. He observed the room to find that all of the beds were empty. There was a faint chatter floating into the room from downstairs; Scorpius guessed that the rest of the boys were at breakfast.

Albus glanced down at the top bunk guiltily. Scorpius bent over his top bunk to find that his dad was sleeping in the bottom bunk. Albus shrugged to Scorpius. "I was just wondering what you were doing here," he whispered. "But do you want to come downstairs? My grandparents are making breakfast and I think they're excited to see you!" At Scorpius's hesitation, Albus rolled his eyes. "Come on! They're not going to be _mean _to you - "

Scorpius felt a little more relieved and hopped quietly off of the top bunk. He glanced back; his dad was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Scorpius crept quietly out of the room, following Albus. Once they exited the second landing and began to descend the stairs, Albus shot a questioning glance at Scorpius. "But why _are _you here, Scorp? Did your house burn down or something?"

"No," replied Scorpius as they passed the first landing, "But it's a really long story and I don't want to ruin your appetite. I'll tell you and Rose later, I promise."

Albus looked surprised. "Ruin my appetite? Well, okay, I can wait. But I thought I should let you know, we're having a huge annual family Quidditch match later on today and even the adults are joining. You want to play?"

Scorpius immediately forgot what had happened the previous night when Quidditch was mentioned. He grinned as he entered the kitchen and said, "Sure."

Scorpius turned to face the kitchen, which had gone strangely silent. The table had been massively enlarged overnight and now looked as if it could seat at least thirty people. The table was about three-quarters full; everyone that had been eating turned around to stare at Scorpius with round eyes. The Weasley cousins were the only ones who waved and smiled at Scorpius.

"Uh, everyone," Albus announced awkwardly to the adults. "This is my best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, he's going to be staying here for a little..." Albus glanced around the table; no one was making introductions. "Anyway, you know all of the cousins except for Hugo, he's right there - " Hugo ducked down nervously, " - and Teddy's basically a cousin, he just graduated Hogwarts - " Teddy gave a halfhearted wave. " - and this is my Uncle George and my Aunt Angelina - " A stocky, freckled, redheaded adult gave Scorpius a tight smile, while the black woman to his right grinned encouragingly. " - My Uncle Percy and my Aunt Audrey - " A nerdy-looking, lanky red-headed man raised his eyebrows at Scorpius, while the brown-haired, pale woman to his right wore a bored, annoyed visage. " - my Uncle Bill and my Aunt Fleur - " A scarred redheaded man nodded to Scorpius, while his beautiful blonde-haired wife waved and smiled warmly in welcome, " - you know my Uncle Ron, and this is my Aunt Hermione - " Mr. Ron Weasley waved to Scorpius and Aunt Hermione looked strangely guilty. " - and finally, you know my dad, but this is my mom..." A pretty, freckled, red-headed woman smiled cheerfully at Scorpius.

"And what are we, chopped liver?" an old, warm voice demanded behind Albus. Scorpius turned around to see a very motherly-looking plump old woman greeting him. She had curly gray hair, but Scorpius could tell it used to be a fiery-red due to the freckles dotting her face. "Merry Christmas Eve, Albus!" she said, hugging her grandson. She turned to Scorpius. "And you, too, Scorpius! It's very nice to meet you," Scorpius assumed that this woman was Grandmother Weasley. "I hope you slept well after that awful incident. Do you need anything, dear?"

"I'm alright," Scorpius smiled. "Thank you, though."

"Well, you're looking awfully skinny," Grandmother Weasley pointed out, wagging a finger at Scorpius. "I'll go fix up some breakfast for you and Albus. Anything that you prefer, dear?"

"I'm fine with anything," Scorpius said.

Albus began to pull Scorpius toward the table when a tall, gray-haired old man approached Scorpius. Like Grandmother Weasley, Scorpius could tell that he had once been red-haired. There was a wary glimmer in his blue eyes, and Scorpius guessed that this was the Arthur Weasley who his father had been talking about in his letter. Scorpius knew that Arthur and Lucius had never saw eye-to-eye, and Scorpius didn't blame him for that; after last night, Lucius was dead to Scorpius.

"I'm Arthur Weasley," Grandfather Weasley shook Scorpius's hand. A frailer, thinner old woman emerged from behind him and introduced herself as Andromeda Tonks; Scorpius guessed that she was Teddy's grandmother. "I'm terribly sorry about last night's incident with Lucius and hope that you had a well-night's rest here," Grandfather Weasley continued.

"I did, sir, thank you very much for your hospitality," Scorpius said. Grandfather Weasley nodded in dismissal and Albus and Scorpius sat down at the table. Scorpius felt thirty pairs of eyes on him; clearly, everyone was curious about last night's 'incident' that the Grandparents seemed to be mentioning.

"How're you doing?" Mr. Potter asked quietly from across the table. All of the pairs of eyes were now bouncing back from Scorpius to Mr. Potter as if in a sort of tennis match (Scorpius's house-elf, Pippy, had been a huge fan of the Muggle sport). Scorpius could tell by the Weasleys' expressions that they were all curious as to what had happened to cause the Malfoys to stay at the Burrow.

"Doing from _what_?" James Potter said, voicing all of the Weasley family's thoughts. He leaned forward, looking expectantly from Mr. Potter to Scorpius. Next to him, Fred had his eyebrows raised in curiosity, while Louis was pretending to pay no attention but Scorpius could see that he was listening intently.

"None of your business, James," Mrs. Ginny Potter said snappily to James. James, realizing that something serious must have happened for his mother to snap at him like that, leaned backwards in his chair and winked at Scorpius as if to say, '_You'll tell me later anyway, right?_'. Scorpius smiled back; the news would leak in the papers anyway, so it wasn't like Scorpius's torture should be a big secret.

"A little better," Scorpius admitted, turning back to Mr. Potter. There was still a tingling, vibrating sensation in his legs and arms whenever he walked; it was like his whole body had pins and needles. However, Scorpius didn't want to admit this weakness to Mr. Potter, let alone the entire Weasley family (like Louis, they all were pretending to not pay attention but Scorpius knew they were eavesdropping).

There was a clatter of footsteps from the stairs and Draco arrived in the kitchen. He received even worse glares from the family than Scorpius had, but he ignored them and nodded to Scorpius. "Alright, Scorpius, let's go," His father said, glancing around the Weasley home suspiciously. He turned to Albus's grandparents, "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I'm grateful for your hospitality but it's time for us to leave - "

" - So soon?" Mr. Potter asked, standing up to confronting Draco. "Draco, you and your son experienced something awful in your Mansion last night, to return might be haunting for Scorpius..." _What am I, five? I can go back to my own _house_, thanks._ "I think he needs some time with his friends and the warm comforts of family right now - "

" - warm comforts of family?" Draco sneered. "Potter, I notice the way you look at me and my son. And I bet you all glared at Scorpius like you just did to me when I walked downstairs," he addressed the latter to the Weasley table, all who looked immensely guilty. "Scorpius received nothing but judgment here, and I can tell it. We're leaving."

"Come _on_, Mr. Malfoy," James rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You all used to _hate _each other; don't pretend you don't glare at our family, too. Can't he at least stay for our family Quidditch match? You can watch, sir - " Draco glared at him through narrowed eyes, but James seemed unfazed by this; he grinned innocently and shrugged his shoulders.

Draco glanced at Scorpius, who nodded encouragingly. Sighing, Draco threw his head back in annoyance. "Alright, _fine_," he said reluctantly. Fred, James, Louis, Albus and Rose cheered. "We'll stay for your family match or whatever. But then we're leaving, I don't want to intrude on your hospitality anymore than I have to."

"More like you don't want to owe us anything later on," Mr. George Weasley whispered to Mr. Ron Weasley, who sniggered.

Scorpius almost shot a glare at them, but then a huge plate of breakfast appeared in front of him. Glancing over to Grandmother Weasley, who was waving to him, Scorpius said a 'thank-you!' and began to dig into his food.

* * *

"Alright!" Teddy Lupin's voice rang across the homemade Quidditch pitch in the Weasley's backyard. It was a cold, crisp winter day; thankfully, it was not snowing, so Scorpius was able to see the field clearly. The wind whipped across his face as he adjusted his Firebolt IV. Mrs. Potter had cast a tricky spell that immediately transported Scorpius's broom to the Weasley's house; he was incredibly grateful for this because his Firebolt gave him an advantage over everyone else.

"Alright!" Teddy repeated once everyone was paying attention. There were twelve people standing around Scorpius; Teddy Lupin, James, Fred, Mr. Potter, Mr. George Weasley, Mrs. Potter, Albus, Victoire, Dominique, Roxanne, Mr. Charlie Weasley, Hugo and Mr. Ron Weasley. Louis was standing to the side, grinning as he twirled his wand around. He would be commentating the match. "Okay, I think that everyone should split themselves into their desired positions so that we can divide everyone up."

All of the Weasleys and Scorpius shuffled around in lines based on their positions. Scorpius joined Mrs. Potter, Dominique, Roxanne, Hugo, Teddy Lupin and Dominique in the Chaser line. Fred, James, Victoire and Mr. George Weasley immediately sprang into the Beater line. Mr. George Weasley looked excited. "I'll be a Beater with Fred!" he said, his eyes lighting up. These words were greeted with an awkward silence; all of the Weasleys glanced at George Weasley with pity in their expressions. _What's going on?_

James looked suspiciously at George. "_I'm _the Beater with Fred, Uncle George. We _always_ come as a package deal."

"_James!_" Mrs. Potter said sharply, glaring at her son. She stalked over to him and grabbed him by his collar as he protested, sputtering in confusion. Fred was looking awkward, while Mr. George Weasley looked as if he had just seen his best friend die. He murmured a slight, crestfallen, 'oh...' as Mrs. Potter reprimanded her son.

"How was _I _supposed to know he was talking about Uncle Fred?" protested James angrily.

"You know what he's like!" Ginny flashed back. "He always has those recurring memories of Fred; you just have to be patient with him and wait until he comes back into reality. That was very, _very _rude and disrespectful of you - "

"Okay, let's split up the teams!" called Teddy Lupin in an attempt to break the fighting. Scorpius glanced to his side; the Keeper line only had one person, Mr. Ron Weasley. Teddy noticed this, too; he glanced over at the Seeker line, which contained Mr. Potter, Albus and Mr. Charlie Weasley. Shrugging, Mr. Charlie Weasley strode over to the Keeper line, giving his brother Ron a pat on the back.

"How about we choose captains?" Teddy's eyes fell on Scorpius and Hugo. "Youngest two are always the Captains. Step up, Scorpius and Hugo. Scorpius - I dunno your birthday, but you're the guest, so the honor's yours, bud." Glancing behind him, Scorpius saw Mrs. Hermione Weasley stride up to the Quidditch pitch, followed by his dad. Mr. Ron Weasley narrowed his eyes at Draco, his lip twitching.

"Guests first, I think," Hugo said as he shook Scorpius's hand. He was a small, round-eyed boy with slightly-curly reddish-brown hair. His skin was pale like the rest of his cousins, and he had a splash of freckles on his nose. "Go on, pick someone. But if you're going to pick Fred or James, they always come as a package, so I'd get to pick two people as well." Fred and James winked at Scorpius as Hugo said this.

"Alright, then," Scorpius said. The first choice was obvious to Scorpius; he had been working with the twin-cousins for months on the Quidditch pitch, so they would be practically unstoppable together. Plus, the Weasley twin-cousins were extremely talented Beaters. "I'll pick Fred and James." Fred and James grinned at each other and high-fived, each slinging an arm around Scorpius as they joined him.

"Good pick, mate," said Fred to Scorpius's left ear.

Hugo then chose Mr. Potter and Mr. Charlie Weasley.

"I think you should go with Roxanne as your second Chaser," James murmured into Scorpius's right ear. "She's excellent; she's the Captain of the Ravenclaw team. They were the favorites to beat Hufflepuff this year and they'll probably be our toughest game."

Scorpius trusted James's advice. "Roxanne?" he said hesitantly, staring into the crowd of pale-skinned, red-headed people. Roxanne was easy to distinguish among them; her olive tanned skin, bright blue eyes and wavy dark-brown hair set her apart from her other cousins. Grinning, she patted Fred, James and Scorpius on the back as she gathered around them.

Hugo then picked Victoire Weasley as his Beater.

"Alright," Fred whispered into Scorpius's left ear. "I'm surprised Aunt Ginny hasn't been chosen yet. She used to be a professional, after all! Captain of the Holyhead Harpies, the all-female Quidditch team that won the Series when she was the Captain. She's a Chaser. I'd definitely go with her."

"Mrs. Potter," said Scorpius. Mrs. Ginny Potter walked over to them, smiling to her son, James.

"Dominique," Hugo said. The tough Hufflepuff Chaser emerged from the crowd, her blonde-and-black dyed hair separating her from her red-haired cousins. Like her relatives, her skin was pale. She had light, blonde freckles that were dotted all over her body.

"I hate to say this, but my brother's the obvious choice as your Seeker, even though he's your _only_ choice," James hissed into Scorpius's right ear. "He's a thousand times better than Spence! Fred and I have been planning to poison Spence so he's out of the match against Slytherin and _then _Al can play - "

"Can you guys hurry up?" Teddy said impatiently.

"Ah - sorry," stammered Scorpius. "Al, come over here."

Now, there were only three people left: Teddy Lupin, Mr. Ron Weasley and Mr. George Weasley. Hugo wisely picked Teddy Lupin; Fred whispered to Scorpius that Teddy had been a star player for Gryffindor despite their awful record. "I blame Spence," growled Fred as Teddy put Hugo on his shoulders.

"The choice is obvious this time," Fred continued to Scorpius, "Uncle Ron. He's a great Keeper when he's not under pressure! And there's no pressure now, so I'm sure he'll do great."

"Mr. Weasley - er, Mr. _Ron_ Weasley - " Scorpius said. Mr. Ron Weasley walked over, strapping on his helmet.

"Okay!" Louis Weasley said, stepping in between the two teams, who were talking strategies to each other. "I think it's time for the game to begin, eh? Today we have my_ marvelous_ father, Mr. Bill Weasley, reffing today's game. Both of his daughters, Victoire and Dominique, are on the Hugo Hippogriffs but we hope that he won't be biased towards them. The other team, the Scorpius Sphinxes, is definitely a team to look out for. With the former professional, Aunt Ginny Potter; the Ravenclaw Captain herself, Miss Roxanne Weasley; and the youngest Chaser on Gryffindor in almost fifty years, Scorpius Malfoy; they're definitely a force to contend with. The Hugo Hippogriff's Beater - "

"_Can we get on with the game already?!_" Teddy Lupin shouted to Louis, who looked incredibly surprised at Teddy's sudden outburst. Louis mockingly saluted to Teddy and beckoned Mr. Bill Weasley forward. Louis's father was clutching the Quaffle and the Bludgers in his arms; the Snitch was held tight in his gloved hand.

"Line up, please!" Mr. Bill Weasley shouted over the howling wind. Scorpius took his position as Left Chaser; he was playing against Dominique Weasley, who presumably was playing Right Chaser. Glancing to his right, he saw Mrs. Potter line up as Center Chaser as Roxanne mounted her broom; she was playing Right Chaser for Scorpius's team. As Scorpius flew up into the air, she tossed him a wink and a thumbs-up. Scorpius's stomach tightened and he felt his face flush; he mouthed 'good luck!' back to her.

"The players line up in their positions!" announced Louis Weasley. He was sitting on the Weasley's makeshift Quidditch bleachers. Rose, Molly, Lucy and Luna crowded around Louis, watching the game and giggling. Rose waved happily to Scorpius, who cheerfully grinned at his friend.

Mrs. Angelina Weasley, Mr. Percy Weasley, Mrs. Fleur Weasley, Mrs. Audrey Weasley sat below the children, while Scorpius's father and Mrs. Hermione Weasley were sitting together in a completely different stand. When Scorpius caught his father's eye, his father grinned at Scorpius and waved. Scorpius waved back half-heartedly; he had never seen his father this happy before.

"And on the count of three Mr. Scarface himself will release the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the Snitch!" continued Louis, his words throwing Scorpius back into reality. Scorpius glanced around the pitch and noticed that everyone's eyes were trained on the Quaffle, which was about to be released. Licking his lips in determination, Scorpius took a ready stance as he waited for Bill Weasley to release the Quidditch balls.

"One... two... three!" Louis yelled. Immediately, the Quaffle was thrown into the air, along with the Snitch and the two Bludgers. As Scorpius dove into the fray, he saw Fred and James smash a Bludger straight at Dominique, who currently had possession of the Quaffle. She let out a tiny scream and dropped the Quaffle to the ground as she spun around on her broomstick; Scorpius guessed that she was disoriented.

He didn't have any more time to think about Dominique, though; the Quaffle had flown into his direction, and Scorpius had to pay attention. He wanted to show the Weasleys that he was incredibly talented at Quidditch. Scorpius also wanted to get revenge for their rudeness and indifference to him. An anger began to build up in his chest, fueling him; Scorpius found himself tilting the handle of the broomstick down as he dove to catch the spinning Quaffle. Teddy was after the Quaffle on Scorpius's other side, but Scorpius easily cut him off with a flick of his Firebolt IV and snatched the Quaffle from the air.

There was a 'smash!' and Scorpius heard whizzing; George Weasley had just hit a Bludger at him. Gripping his broom, Scorpius did a barrel-roll as the Bludger whizzed over his head. Fred Weasley suddenly appeared above Scorpius as Scorpius completed the move. "Nice move, Scorpius!" exclaimed Fred as he whacked a Bludger towards Hugo, who attempting to catch Scorpius on his pathetic Cleansweep Seventeen.

"... and Scorpius Malfoy dodges a well-aimed Bludger by Uncle George! Did you see that move, everyone? Malfoy Jr. just _barrel-rolled _with his broomstick to avoid that Bludger! He does have a Firebolt IV, which is rumored to cost about a thousand Galleons, but a barrel-roll is quite impressive for a first-year, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, our favorite shrimp is streaking down to the goalposts, will he be able to score on Uncle Charlie? We all know that Uncle Charlie had a brief but successful stint as a Keeper before he settled on being a Seeker - "

Scorpius buzzed through the air, nimbly dodging Dominique Weasley and Victoire Weasley as he flew towards the goalposts. The only person left to dodge was Charlie Weasley. Scorpius was highly intimidated by the Weasley uncle; he looked incredibly tough with his burn-scarred arms and wild red hair. His broad shoulders and muscular frame made him the perfect build for a Keeper; he didn't look much like a Seeker to Scorpius. As Charlie Weasley approached him, Scorpius decided to try a cool move he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup last year: it was called the Fenlon Feint.

Using his broomstick's incredible speed to his advantage, Scorpius tilted his broom upwards into a vertical angle and began to zoom in a straight line towards the sky. Charlie, confused, followed him; this was just what Scorpius wanted. Smiling widely, Scorpius continued to climb higher and higher in the sky until Louis's voice sounded faint.

"Could Scorpius be attempting the Fenlon Feint that Mr. Brad Fenlon of the Irish Quidditch team attempted at last year's Quidditch World Cup?" Louis was commentating below. "This move requires incredible skill and years of training; will the young first-year be able to pull it off? Only time will tell, folks; I don't think anyone can quite see where Scorpius and Uncle Charlie have disappeared to..."

Suddenly, Scorpius flipped his broom and pulled the handle downwards; it was now racing at a straight line towards the ground. Charlie Weasley, confused, was stranded thousands of feet in the clouds while Scorpius was plummeting to the ground. Soon, the clouds disappeared and Scorpius saw the others watching him, completely baffled, as he flew towards the dead, dry grass.

And then, suddenly, Scorpius pulled his broom up so that he was now racing towards the goalposts. There was a scattering of applause; everyone in the family was so astounded by the fact that Scorpius had pulled off the incredible move that no one tried to stop him as he launched towards the goalposts, the Quaffle in his arms as he wound up to shoot a goal.

He made the goal easily and attempted to stop his broom, but it would not brake. Furrowing his eyebrows, Scorpius attempted to turn the broomstick, but it would not budge. Panicking, Scorpius looked wildly around for help, but no one had really noticed that Scorpius's broom wasn't stopping. They were too busy lining up at the center of the field to see that Scorpius's broom was flying as fast as it could towards the forest bordering the edge of the field.

Scorpius closed his eyes, panicking as he tried to search his pockets for his wand. It wasn't in his pockets; Scorpius remembered that he had left it in the boys' room. Scorpius opened his eyes for a last, terrifying second to see that he was heading straight for a huge oak tree. Before Scorpius could close his eyes, he crashed with a large 'crack!' into the tree as his vision melted into darkness.

* * *

Thank you all for the reviews! I made this chapter longer as requested. I'd love to hear what you guys think about this one; it's kind of a filler/foil for the next chapter that I'm a bit nervous to write! Enjoy... x


	13. T W E L V E

**Chapter Twelve: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year**

"Scorpius, Scorp, buddy, are you all right? Please be all right... should I take him to St. Mungo's? Oh, no, he can't know yet..."

"Move aside Draco, he's broken a few bones. Let me fix it..."

"Why should I trust_ you_ with fixing my son, Granger?"

"Because I trained as a Healer before becoming involved with the Ministry, as you very well know. Now get out of the way, Draco, unless you want to wake up your injured son!"

"You'll fix him, then?"

"Of _course_ I'll fix him! Now hush - I need to concentrate."

There was a tap on his shoulder, and Scorpius felt a sharp bullet of pain course through every area in his body; he woke up, screaming and writhing. As he squirmed on the ground, he saw that he was surrounded by a pool of blood and everything seemed to ache as if he was bruised everywhere. Confused, upset, and semi-conscious, Scorpius let out a low moan as tears welled up in his eyes; he decided to keep them closed for awhile as he couldn't stand looking at his wrecked self.

"You're hurting him!" exclaimed the slightly-raspy, deep voice that Scorpius had recognized from a few moments ago. A strong image of his father appeared in his head; Scorpius grunted in an attempt to try to communicate with Draco, but Draco was too focused on the woman tending to Scorpius's wounds.

"Mending bones isn't an exactly painless process, Draco, surely you remember that from school?" Mrs. Hermione Weasley's face emerged in Scorpius's head when he recognized the speaker. "As I recall, that hippogriff attacked you and broke your arm in the third year - "

"Oh, shut up, Granger, you lot never stop telling that story - " Draco's voice wasn't rude, though; it was soft and light as if he was remembering something funny. "But yes, now that I do remember, fixing the bone was a little bit painful. I didn't scream or anything like Scorpius did, is there anything wrong - ?"

"He's bruised, he's bloody and he has broken bones everywhere," Hermione said shortly; the previous light-heartedness in her tone had disappeared. Scorpius heard the scuffle of footsteps in the distance; he guessed that other Weasleys were approaching. "Honestly, you're lucky that he's not dead; he slammed into the oak tree extremely fast!"

"Will he need to go to St. Mungo's?" Draco repeated, sounding uncharacteristically hushed. "You already know about my wife, Hermione. I can't have him go in there and see that she's being quarantined away from us. She's being left to _die _there, and he'll know right when he steps in there. There's a whole ward just for the sick so the disease doesn't get out of the hospital - "

" - he won't have to go to St. Mungo's, Draco," Hermione said. "And I'm frankly astonished that you haven't taken Scorpius to see his mother, or at least _explained _what's happening - "

" - We're visiting her on Christmas, and I don't need parenting advice from you, _Grang_ - "

" - Is he alright?" A scared, loud, female voice sprinted up to the scene. Scorpius recognized the confident tone and motherly manner in which she knelt over Scorpius: this was Ginny Potter. "Oh _Merlin_, he's scarred and bruised all over! It looks like you've mended his bones, what about - ?" _  
_

"Scorpius!" a distraught Albus dove beside his best friend. "Oh man, I wasn't even paying attention when it happened, is he going to be okay, Aunt Hermione?"

"He'll be fine," Hermione said curtly; she was trying to focus on mending Scorpius's wounds, and the Weasley cousins surrounding her were obviously distracting the young witch. "Can everyone please stop yelling? I know he looks mangled now, but I'll be able to fix him up quickly..." The chatter died down immediately, and Hermione bent over Scorpius to begin to fix his gashes and cuts.

She ran her wand over his wounds, muttering some complicated incantation that Scorpius couldn't make out. For once, the Weasley cousins were silent; Scorpius was surprised that he hadn't heard Fred and James's loud voices yet. However, Scorpius could feel a buzz of nervousness passing through the onlookers. Judging by the Weasley's astonished voices previously, Scorpius guessed that he looked really beat up. If only he had the strength to open his eyes...

"There," said Hermione, leaning back and waving her wand. Scorpius felt a strange, pure sort of veil drape over him. The veil melted once it made contact with his skin; it was a refreshing, cold sort of feeling. After the veil had disappeared, he felt a lot less dirty and messy. He tried to open his eyes, but he simply didn't have the strength. A shock of fear passed through him; was he going blind?

"Why isn't he waking up?" Draco asked shortly. "You've fixed him up, what's wrong with him?"

"He's still battered up internally," Hermione explained. "I can't fix that with just my wand; I would need a specific type of medicine from St. Mungo's. He's also bruised and aching; he simply doesn't have the power to wake up yet. He'll come around, though - "

" - So he's going to be blind," Draco mumbled. Scorpius felt a hand grip his shoulder as his father tried to steady himself; Scorpius guessed that Draco had just swayed in fear and disbelief.

"I don't think so," Hermione said, a tremor of doubt entering her small voice. "I-it'll just take some time for Scorpius to recover, that's all. You have to understand that he hit the tree at an outstanding speed; he's lucky to be _alive_ - "

" - I don't have to understand _anything_ you say," Draco spat back at her. "I knew I shouldn't have stayed here, I _knew _Scorpius and I should have left. He's my only son and he's _blind_ - "

" - Don't talk to Hermione like that - !" Ron Weasley began to yell, but he was cut off by his brother.

" - Stop overreacting, Draco," George Weasley's voice entered Scorpius's mind. "Scorpius wanted to stay here; you're the only one that thinks it's a bad idea. There was something wrong with his broom; like Hermione said, he's lucky to not have been seriously injured - "

Scorpius suddenly mumbled something to let everyone know he was alive. His mouth felt like jelly; he could barely form his low mumbles and moans into words. However, George immediately stopped speaking upon hearing Scorpius's muttering and Scorpius felt all of the Weasleys lean in closer to see if he was going to say anything else.

"He's just really weak," Hermione said kindly to Draco, who hadn't spoken yet. Scorpius pictured his father as looking upset. "He just needs some rest and he'll be completely fine, alright? No need to overreact..."

"... broom," Scorpius managed to rasp out after great effort. "Broom... did - didn't stop... no turn... tree in front of me... swerve to stop... hurts to talk... to try to see... where Dad... Albus... Rose... James en' Fred... can't... see..."

Silence greeted his disjointed words.

"Told you there was something up with the broom," George said, standing up and walking away. Scorpius guessed that George had gone off to locate the broom to see what was wrong with it. Meanwhile, Scorpius pictured the Weasleys exchanging sad and worried glances at his words. Scorpius had been _trying _to explain that his broom had crashed because it wouldn't budge and that it hurt to talk and to try to open his eyes. He also wanted his friends and his father by his side; and suddenly, he realized he wanted his mom with him, too.

"Mom," rasped Scorpius, reaching a feeble arm into the air. "Mom. I... I want... Mom."

"Your mom's not here," Draco managed to choke out, sounding distraught and slightly guilty at Scorpius's request.

"Mom," repeated Scorpius, beginning to regain feeling in his eyes. He moved his pupils around but was still not able to open his eyelids. "Get Mom. I want... my Mom..."

"She's ill," Draco said shortly. "But I'm here, Scorpius. It's me, your Dad - I'm here - "

"Sometimes that isn't enough," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "He needs his mother, Draco."

"He'll have to get used to life without her," snarled Draco. "Because she'll probably be dead by morning!"

The entire Weasley clan gasped in shock. Aunt Angelina said, 'oh, Draco...' while the others were murmuring to themselves. Scorpius didn't absorb the what his father had just said; Scorpius just assumed that he was in some strange dream. His mother couldn't be _dying_; that was a completely random and stupid thought.

Draco ignored Hermione's protests and tried to lift Scorpius up to his feet. Fluttering his eyelashes in confusion, Scorpius dropped to the ground once Draco had let go of him; his legs felt like jelly. When Scorpius was sprawled out on the ground again, Scorpius heard his father run his hands through his hair, sighing.

"You didn't tell him, did you, Draco?" Mr. Potter asked quietly from the crowd of Weasleys.

"No," said Draco curtly. "And I don't need _you_ giving me parenting advice, Potter. I figured Scorpius already had enough on his plate; I didn't want to worry him with this, alright? We were supposed to visit her tomorrow, on Christmas. But Scorpius will never be able to truly see her again, and neither will I..."

"What do you mean, never 'truly see her'?" Teddy Lupin whispered. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's none of your business!" snarled Draco. Scorpius felt the grass shuffle as Draco turned towards Teddy. Scorpius was almost ignoring the conversation; he was confident he was in some silly sort of dream now. There was no way possible his mother was dying; she was probably just feeling a bit down. St. Mungo's would fix her up easily.

Suddenly, Draco's voice grew soft as he began to tell his story. "Alright, fine. She has it. The disease. They quarantined her and are leaving her to die alone because there's no cure. When Scorpius and I go to visit her tomorrow, we have to wear masks and be surrounded in a special bubble to even catch a _glimpse _of her, and that would've been outside of the glass room they've stuck her in. But now it looks like there's something wrong with my son. Is this some sort of punishment for my past? Why are they taking everyone away from me..." His voice grew weak and Scorpius heard a small pat as his father covered his face with his hands; clearly, Draco was embarrassed for talking too much.

"You should've told us sooner," Hermione said to Draco. Judging by the soft sounds coming from his left, he pictured that Hermione was rubbing Draco's back comfortingly (and Ron Weasley was probably glaring at them from a distance). "We could've helped with you and Scorpius. Asking for help isn't a weakness."

"You had no right to know!" flashed Draco, his previous anger returning. "You wouldn't have helped me, anyway; none of you gave two shits about my family until Scorpius saved your kids' asses. And even then you treated my kid like crap. It's funny how you all think _you're _the family I'd turn to after my wife's sickness. I've been brought up to believe you all were a bunch of _blood-traitors _and _half-bloods._"

"You should have talked to someone - " Hermione began, but Draco cut her off.

" - stop giving me advice," growled Draco, leaning in to check on Scorpius, who was twitching in an attempt to move his arms and legs. "I don't need any of your help. Scorpius and I will learn to live without a maternal figure in the house perfectly fine by ourselves..."

"He needs a mother," Mr. Potter said stubbornly. "You can't just keep pretending nothing's wrong around him, Draco. From what I hear, he's not a dumb boy. He probably knows that something's wrong. Imagine how he'll feel when he realizes that you've been lying to him for months. Where's he going to turn after his father betrayed him? You know the answer: us. And then you'll truly be alone, Draco."

"What are you trying to offer?" Draco muttered, sounding utterly defeated. Scorpius guessed that he saw sense in Mr. Potter's words.

"A second family," said Hermione. "We want you to stay here after your visit to Astoria on Christmas. I'm sure that being around friends and family will cheer both of you up after what is going to be a very long and sad day for your family. We're willing to forgive you for your past if you'll forgive us for ours."

"Even though we never _did _anything as awful as becoming a Death Eater and indirectly killing Dumbledore," Scorpius heard Ron Weasley murmur angrily.

Draco appeared to not have heard Ron; he seemed to be pondering Hermione's offer. "What do you mean, a 'second family'?" he finally asked after a while. "You're not trying to adopt my son, are you?"

"Of course not, you bloody id - " began Ron, but there was a clapping noise and Scorpius deduced that Ginny Weasley had smacked a hand over her brother's mouth.

"No," Hermione said, ignoring Ron's outburst. "We're offering you a support system. A family to spend Christmases, Easters and even your summers with. It will be very hard for both you and your son to live without any friends and family. We want to be your friends, Draco; no offense, but you really don't have any at the moment."

"The Weasleys took me in when I had no... _accepting..._ family to turn to," murmured Mr. Potter from behind Hermione. "We really want to help you, Draco. Scorpius and you don't have to cope with the death of your wife alone. You'll have a family for the first time in your life."

"I... want... my mom," Scorpius managed to whisper after Mr. Potter spoke. He hoped that his mother would magically appeared in this strange dream he was having. "Mom... miss my mom... Dad, please get Mom..."

"You need us," Hermione said softly to Draco. Scorpius felt her eyes trail to him.

There was a pause; Draco seemed to be considering the Weasleys' offer of an extended family. Draco was not stupid; he knew that the Weasleys were offering to take him and his son under their wing. If he accepted, he would be associated with the blood-traitor Weasleys for the rest of his life. He had been trying to improve himself and his son these past eleven years; if he didn't accept the Weasleys' offer, wouldn't all of his hard work at bettering himself be wasted? If he was so _great_ now, he wouldn't have been judging the Weasleys by their blood status. He knew that Potter was right; if Scorpius wasn't told about his mother soon, he would leave Draco and turn to his friends for support. That's just how Scorpius was. Draco knew deep down that he was desperate enough to ally with the Weasleys to save his son.

"Fine," Draco murmured after awhile. "But don't think it's because I want to be friends with you lot; I'm doing this for my son."

Right after Draco said this, Scorpius opened his eyes.

* * *

Scorpius was half-asleep when he heard someone enter his room. Opening his eyes wearily, Scorpius saw that his father, Draco, had entered his room. Scorpius was hoping to catch some sleep after all of the Weasley cousins had visited him fifteen minutes earlier, but his father looked grave and serious so Scorpius figured that Draco wanted to tell him something important. Draco took a seat on the end of Scorpius's bed. His icy gray eyes were trained on the floorboards.

"Nice room," he said feebly.

"Yeah," muttered Scorpius, looking around. His aching neck gave a shriek of pain as he craned it to glance around the room; it had once been an attic, but the Weasley cousins fixed it up to be a kids' playroom. Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley had stuck a spare bed up in the room for Scorpius. They wanted him to stay up in the attic so that he would have some rest and wouldn't be distracted by the thirty-some people milling about the house.

"I-I need to tell you something that I should have told you weeks before now," Draco said suddenly, lifting his head to look at his son. Scorpius felt the familiar jolt that always struck him when his father looked at him; they were so similar looking that it gave Scorpius chills down his spine. "But before I tell you, I need you to promise that you won't hate me after I tell you. I-I should've told you before, but I thought it would be too much for an eleven-year-old boy to handle."

Scorpius paused for a moment. He felt as if he had been a part of a conversation similar to this with his father, only a day ago... Creasing his eyebrows in confusion, Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "Alright," he said, his curiosity driving him to make a quick promise. "I promise I won't hate you, Dad; even though I don't know how I could hate you since you're my father."

Draco snorted. "There's a lot of reasons for someone to hate me," he said bitterly. "Including yourself, Scorpius. The Malfoy name has cursed you ever since you were born. Even in Hogwarts, you were prejudiced and bullied because of my father and I. And for that, I apologize."

"It made me realize who my true friends were," said Scorpius indifferently. "Or, who my true friends turned out to be. I have a feeling that's not what you came here to tell me, though."

"You're a smart boy," Draco smiled slightly. "I was second in my year, behind Hermione Granger. I suppose you inherit your brains from me..." He sighed and looked at his feet again. "What I have to tell you... is about your mother. My wife. Astoria Greengrass Malfoy..."

Scorpius leaned forward. "What about her?" he asked. "Will she be coming tomorrow for Christmas?" he added hopefully.

"No," said his father tightly. "We'll see her tomorrow, though. But she will be... different. You won't really be able to see her," At Scorpius's confused look, Draco continued, "Scorpius, she's sick. She caught some awful disease when we visited the Ministry two months ago and St. Mungo's is keeping her quarantined. The disease is highly contagious and there's no known cure for it. So, she - "

" - wait," Scorpius said. "So it's all true?"

"What's true?" Draco looked confused.

"Everything you said," Scorpius felt a swirling, awful feeling rising up in his stomach. "About my mom. When I was hurt. I heard everything, I just didn't have the strength to move my lips or open my eyes. I thought it was all a dream, a stupid dream... about how she's dying alone in a glass room and I'll never be able to see her again," he laughed dryly. "That's ridiculous. We're wizards; there's a cure to everything. You're pulling some joke on me."

Genuine tears were rolling down Draco Malfoy's eyes. "I-I'm not," he stammered, his head bowed in shame. "I only recently learned that the disease has spread and she's dying, buddy. The disease starts in your body and it attacks your heart, slowly... there's no pain, though. Just a bit of heartburn - "

" - she's not dying," Scorpius's head was spinning. He had _never _seen his dad cry before; thus, he had the terrible feeling that his father wasn't lying. "_No._ She's not, Dad. Whatever they're telling you is a lie - that psycho hospital - my mom's not dying, Dad - " Scorpius's breaths were short and shallow as his chest heaved; he was close to having a panic attack.

" - It's okay," Draco recognized his son's fear and reached over to hug him. Scorpius was immobilized by shock so he couldn't push his father off, even though he wanted to blast his father across the room for not telling him this awful news sooner. _Merry Christmas, Scorpius! Sorry, your mother's kind of dying, but it's still Christmas, don't worry about a thing! _"Scorpius, we'll be fine, alright? The Weasleys are going to help us through this - "

" - I don't _care_!" roared Scorpius, trying to punch and claw at his father, who simply blocked Scorpius's feeble attempts to hurt him with his shoulders, "I just want to see my mother! I want to hug her and I want her to_ talk_ to me, Dad - I just want my mother here. Can't we _pay_ them to let her out?"

"N-no," Draco was shaking, too, but Scorpius didn't care how upset his dad was. He was seeing red; rage and sadness blinded his thoughts. "We can see her tomorrow, Scorpius... but she's not awake... she won't... wake..." His voice had an awful, nervous tremor as he attempted to choke out the words. "... again. S-she can't move, c-can't s-see..."

"No," whispered Scorpius, feeling very weak and feeble. Darkness began to close around him as he vainly waved his arms in an attempt to escape the black wave that was about to crash over him. Gasping in fear, he kicked and squirmed in his bed as darkness completely engulfed him.

* * *

"Come on," Draco had hissed to his son before dawn the next morning, "We're off to visit your mother at St. Mungo's. But hurry up and be quiet... we don't want to wake the Weasleys yet. We'll be back in time for Christmas and gift-giving. Come _on_." Draco had repeated, pulling his reluctant and depressed son out of bed. Despite Scorpius's aching and bruised body, he had managed to stand up and stagger out of the attic.

The previous day when Scorpius learned of his mother's eminent death, the eleven-year-old had fainted. He didn't wake up until his father had forced him to eat dinner hours later. Albus and Rose tried to visit after Draco had arrived in the kitchen, Scorpius's dinner untouched, but Scorpius had fallen back asleep again. Scorpius hadn't wanted to think, eat, or talk to anyone. He had just wanted to lie in his bed and fall asleep, hoping that when he woke up everything would have turned out to be some crazy and depressing nightmare.

Now, Scorpius was at St. Mungo's with his father as they walked to Astoria's ward. It was on the second floor, the floor for contagious sicknesses. As Scorpius exited the elevator, the St. Mungo's Healer guided them through the hospital and took Draco and Scorpius through a web of hallways until they reached a heavily locked, white door that read: _Quarantined Patients of the Corde Disease: Do NOT enter without masks and/or a Bubble Charm!_

The Healer performed the Bubble Charm on himself and looked expectantly at Draco and Scorpius. Scorpius knew that the Bubble Charm usually was called the 'Bubblehead Charm' and surrounded the user's face with a bubble, but this full-Bubble Charm seemed to close the entire body in a humongous Bubble. Draco murmured the incantation and a large bubble formed over Scorpius and him; Scorpius was surprised that he was able to walk in the bubble.

The Healer waved his wand and the door opened. Scorpius entered a strange, clear corridor that had glass walls. As Scorpius examined the walls, he could see patients lying in their beds; some sleeping, most clutching their hearts, while others were strangely still. Each of the patients' rooms were separated by a glass barrier so that the patients could see into one another's rooms. Scorpius had an eerie feeling about the place; the 'Corde Disease' or whatever they called it looked incredibly unpleasant.

"Astoria Malfoy," the Healer announced, stopping at 'Chamber 37'. Draco glanced at first to the room, and then to the Healer. Scorpius noticed the haunted, disgusted look in his father's eyes after they looked away from the room in which his wife was being kept. "Life expectancy?" Draco asked quietly.

"A little less than twenty-four hours," the Healer said gravely. His blue eyes looked genuinely upset. "Awful killer, this disease is. At least your wife was able to spend one last Christmas with her family.." The Healer's eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry, sir. So unprofessional of me. Anyway, I'll get going now..." The Healer quickly walked away, shielding his face.

Scorpius approached the glass barricading him from his mother. Pressing his hands against the wall, he saw his mother lying very still in her bed. Her brunette hair looked dirty and unkempt, and her sheets looked messy, as if she had been twitching and moving around in her sleep. Scorpius backed away from the window; this weakened, sick woman looked as if she was already dead. He didn't want this image of his dying mother to taint his other fond memories of her. "I want to leave," he murmured quietly to his father, his gray eyes haunted.

Draco looked seriously at him. "This is the last time you'll probably ever see your mother alive," he whispered, his eyes soft. "You don't even want to spend another second with her?"

"Not this version of my mum," Scorpius said, tearing his eyes away from the awful room. "I don't want to remember my mum as some sick dying lady. I want to preserve my cheerful, happy memories of her. If I look at her in the state she's in again, it'll just..." He broke off, confused. "I don't know, Dad. I don't want to see her dying."

"Just say a final goodbye," said Draco, looking down at his feet. His eyes were wet; Scorpius could tell he was about to cry. Scorpius himself already had silent tears dripping from his eyes. "If you don't want to look at her - don't. Just say something that you would like her to hear."

"Okay," Scorpius murmured, approaching the glass again. He couldn't help himself; he opened his eyes and was again shocked and slightly repulsed by what he saw. His graceful mother was asleep, dying from some awful disease... "Merry Christmas, Mum," He breathed, not wanting his father to hear his private words to his dying mother, "I was having a great Christmas break until I realized that you weren't here. Our Christmases back at the Mansion were pretty dull, but life just won't be the same without you, Mum. I can't put everything I'm feeling into words, but I just want you to know that I'll miss you forever and I'll always love you, Mum. I hope you'll watch out for me at Hogwarts and during my life, because you know I'll need it. I just wish I could talk to you again..." His voice trailed off; he was starting to shake with sobs. "I-I just - even though you can't hear this, Mum, I love you. And I don't know what I'll do without you."

Twitching with sadness, Scorpius wrenched himself away from his mother and turned to his father. He gripped tightly onto his only remaining family member as his body was convulsed with sobs.

* * *

Gave you guys a nice long chapter!xx You'll see why Astoria's death is crucial in the sequel to this book (I've already planned out a bit of a series!) Remember to** review**! I love love love seeing what you all think of my writing! x


	14. T H I R T E E N

**Chapter Thirteen: The Firebolt V**

Besides Scorpius's visit to his dying mother, his Christmas was absolutely excellent.

Scorpius and his father had arrived to the Burrow from St. Mungo's at about eleven o'clock Christmas morning. By then, all of the presents had been opened except for two stacks of gifts on the humongous dinner table. The father and son were welcomed with pitying, open arms; all of the Weasleys had made Scorpius and Draco their favorite breakfasts in an attempt to cheer up the Malfoys. Scorpius thought that this was very nice. After his incredible breakfast, the Weasleys invited the two Malfoys to open their presents.

Draco looked doubtfully at his pile, which was a bit smaller than Scorpius's. "Presents?" he asked doubtfully, glancing around the room full of pale red-headed relatives. "These... presents... are for me? You got me presents?" Scorpius agreed with his father's surprised tone; he had never expected the Weasleys to get him presents. Scorpius had bought some presents for the Weasleys while he was in London with Draco, but Scorpius himself had never thought he would receive any Christmas gifts.

"Of course, Draco," Grandmother Weasley said warmly. "We didn't forget about you!"

"N-no, I just didn't expect this," murmured Draco, humbled. He began to unwrap a present on the top of his pile; Scorpius was itching to unwrap the large broomstick-shaped-item on the table (his Firebolt IV had been completely splintered in his crash, so Scorpius guessed that someone replaced it for him), but instinct told him to save that one for last.

Scorpius started by unwrapping a large, square-shaped present on the side of his pile. Scorpius's heart began to race when he saw the familiar black-and-yellow horizontal stripes on the large book that he had just unwrapped; this was the book he had been dying to get for months, _Wanderings With the Wimbourne Wasps_!The book had been released in October and included facts and in-depth information on Scorpius's favorite Quidditch team, the Wimbourne Wasps.

The small note attached read: "_I lost all of my pride buying you this book (you know I'm a die-hard Appleby Arrows fan!). Hope your favorite team does awful this season! From, Albus_" Scorpius looked up from his present and grinned at his friend, who was looking cheerful from across the room. Scorpius realized that this was the first time he had smiled all day. "Thanks, Albus!" Scorpius said gratefully. Albus nodded and gave Scorpius a thumbs-up.

"Huh," Draco said from beside Scorpius. Glancing over at his father, Scorpius saw that Draco was holding up a hunter green knit sweater from Grandmother Weasley. Scorpius personally liked it a lot; it looked very comfortable and warm. Scorpius was surprised that his father, who was used to wearing solely designer wizarding apparel, was looking very happy with his new sweater.

"Everyone in the family gets one," explained Grandmother Weasley happily. "I thought the hunter-green would bring out your eyes." As Scorpius looked around the Weasleys watching him, he noticed that they were all wearing their knit sweaters. The colors were different for each Weasley; Scorpius was curious as to what color he'd get.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Draco, slipping his sweater on top of his fancy robes.

The next present Scorpius opened was a mirror from Rose. It had a very fancy handle, but Scorpius didn't really understand the point of it. He shot a questioning glance at his friend, who explained.

"It's an enchanted mirror," she explained. Her sweater was a light lilac color; it clashed horribly with her red hair, but Scorpius liked the color even though it was very girly. "It lets you change an aspect of your appearance for a certain amount of time, but no longer than a week. You can only change one aspect, though: you can't change your entire appearance. For example, if I wanted to change the color of my eyes to green for the day - " Rose stared hard at the mirror; she looked like she was concentrating deeply. And then, suddenly, Rose's eyes changed from a light blue to a pretty green. "I just need to tell it in my head, and it'll change."

"Cool!" Scorpius exclaimed, trying out the mirror for himself. Sure, it was a little girly, but if he needed to look good for someone in the future this mirror would definitely come in handy. Scorpius stared hard at the mirror and thought: _Make me tan for a minute! _Immediately, Scorpius's skin changed from a light pale to an olive shade. All of the Weasleys applauded and roared with laughter.

Scorpius then moved on to opening a joint present that was given to him from James, Fred and Louis. _"To our fellow Rapier," _it read, "_we hope you'll be able to put some of these products to use soon! We have some excellent pranks planned. Enjoy! From, Fred, James and Louis." _Scorpius opened it and found that it contained boxes of unreleased Weasley's Wheezes merchandise. Scorpius grinned in delight and gave the Rapiers a thumbs-up. They smiled back, pleased with themselves.

Scorpius received a box of Honeydukes candy from all of the Weasley and Potter parents. Scorpius had to practice all of the self-restraint he contained so that he wouldn't dig into the candy right away: even though he had just eaten a huge breakfast, the candy looked excellent. Scorpius distracted himself by opening his second-to-last present, a scarlet knit sweater from the Weasley grandparents. There were gold rugby stripes running horizontally across the sweater.

"For Gryffindor!" cheered Grandmother Weasley, smiling.

"I love it!" grinned Scorpius, immediately throwing it over himself and smiling delightedly at his presents. "Wow, thank you all for the presents! This has been one of the best Christmases - " Right before he finished his sentence, Scorpius remembered his mother. He broke off, feeling confused and guilty. This _couldn't _be one of his favorite Christmases when his mother wasn't here to celebrate it with him.

James didn't miss a beat. He knew why Scorpius hadn't finished his sentence, and James was clever: he said the perfect thing to get Scorpius's mind off of his mother. "You still have another present!" the eldest Potter boy exclaimed, pointing at the huge broomstick on the table. "Go on, open it!"

Scorpius leaned towards the messily-wrapped broomstick-shaped-package and glanced at the tag. It read: '_Material items should never make up for what I've done to you, but I hope that you'll forgive me... It's just you and I, now. Love, Dad.' _Scorpius glanced up at his father and grinned, trying to show that he forgave his father. His father smiled back and motioned for him to open the present.

Slowly, Scorpius began to unwrap the broomstick. Scorpius had never seen it before, but it was the most beautiful broomstick he had ever seen. It had a beautiful ebony handle and hazel twigs. It looked sleeker and quicker than his Firebolt IV; but what broom could possibly be better than the Firebolt IV? The Firebolt IV was the best broom in the market when Scorpius had bought it. Unless...

"The Firebolt V!" gasped Teddy Lupin, jumping forward to examine the broom. He was clad in his rusty-orange sweater emblazoned with a white "T". His hair was dirty blonde today, and his eyes were a light blue. "This wasn't even announced yet! It's only supposed to be a rumor..." Teddy looked up at a smug-looking Draco Malfoy. "How did you ever manage to get this?"

Draco shrugged. "I told the Firebolt manufacturer what had happened with Scorpius's Firebolt IV. He panicked and thought I was going to sue him, so he gave me this Firebolt in return that I wouldn't press charges for his faulty broom. The Firebolts are supposed to have an unbreakable Braking Charm, after all."

"Incredible!" James breathed, his eyes tracing the golden, cursive script reading 'Firebolt V' that was emblazoned on the handle. "No one even knew these were in production! This broom must be _incredible, _Scorpius, how about you go try it out? I wanna see how it flies!"

"Yeah!" All of the Weasleys echoed James; they looked expectantly at Scorpius. Scorpius reached out his hand and touched the Firebolt V's handle; a surge of warmth coursed through his veins, and Scorpius immediately felt a connection with his broomstick that he had never felt with the Firebolt IV.

"Designed to act like wands," explained Draco, reading his son's expression. "That's what makes the Firebolt V so revolutionary. It combines wand technology with broomstick engineering and creates an experience that literally bonds the rider with the broomstick. Also, if someone else rides your Firebolt V, it'll still be incredible but they won't share the same connection that you do with the broomstick. That's what the Firebolt creator told me, anyway."

"Amazing!" breathed Albus.

"Wow," Roxanne said dreamily.

"Dad, can I get one of those?" Victoire murmured, looking slightly dejected. Scorpius knew that Mr. Bill Weasley's family still rode on Cleansweeps.

Scorpius decided to break the awkward moment by tearing out of the house with his new broomstick, the entire Weasley family chasing after him. Scorpius jumped in the air and threw his Firebolt V under him. Immediately, the Firebolt V mounted and smoothly whizzed around the air. There were claps and cheers as Scorpius zoomed around the Burrow, his new broomstick was going eight times as fast as his old Firebolt IV.

Scorpius didn't want to brag and make the other Weasley cousins _too _jealous of his new broomstick, so he circled around the Burrow one more time and landed cleanly next to Albus and Rose. The former was eyeing the broom in amazement, his green eyes stretched wide."You're so lucky," he murmured. "The things I would do for a Firebolt V..."

Scorpius shrugged. "Maybe I'm lucky..." he murmured, his thoughts immediately wandering to his mother. "I would trade this broomstick for my mother any day."

Albus looked at Scorpius guiltily. "Come on," he said, grabbing both Rose and Scorpius, "Let's go upstairs."

* * *

That day, Scorpius had confided everything that had happened with Lucius to Rose and Albus. They were all huddled around the fluffy carpet next to Scorpius's bed (which he had now let his father, Draco, sleep in now that Scorpius wasn't injured). Rose's eyes were wide, while Albus looked disgusted and upset.

"He tortured you," Albus confirmed, his voice slightly shaking. "Five... times...?"

"Yeah," Scorpius muttered. Pins and needles still exploded around his body whenever he thought of the Cruciatus Curse; Scorpius figured that he would never really heal from the torture he had gone through that night. Sometimes, he still felt stabs of white-hot pain from where the knives had stabbed him.

"Wow," Albus breathed, his eyes huge. "Scorp - I-I'm so sorry... I never knew - "

" - that my grandfather was a wizard turned pyscho?" Scorpius asked dryly. "Yeah, I didn't know either."

The room was silent for a moment. Scorpius was tired of the silence; he needed a distraction. "I think I'm going to take a walk or something," he muttered, standing up and grabbing his Firebolt V. "I'm sorry... I just need some time to think about everything that's happened today with my mom."

"If you ever need someone to talk to, we're here," Rose spoke for the first time.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, smiling gratefully as he exited the room. He descended the long, winding stairs quietly; most of the Weasley cousins were in the living room, celebrating Christmas, so if Scorpius could just sneak past them in the kitchen and run outside, he would finally have some time alone...

He reached the bottom of the stairs and sprinted across the kitchen towards the front door. Scorpius heard George Weasley telling a crowd of Weasley children and adults a funny story. Everyone listening roared with laughter; this gave Scorpius the time he needed to swing open the door and step outside.

Immediately, Scorpius mounted his broom and took off. The whipping, cold winter air slashed his face as he sped around the forests and the fields on his broomstick, but Scorpius ignored this. The pain felt good; it distracted him from everything that was happening in his life. His mother's eminent death, his father's reluctance to tell him anything, the fact that his grandfather had tortured him almost into insanity two nights ago... it was too much for an eleven-year-old to handle.

He rode on his broomstick for what felt like days; in reality, he had only been flying for a few hours. The sun was starting to set when Scorpius began to descend from the clouds; his father was right, this broomstick was incredibly comfortable and connected to Scorpius just as well as his wand did. Scorpius had never loved an object more than he loved his broomstick; as he was landing, he made an internal vow to never crash it again.

The young Malfoy closed his eyes in content when he touched down to the brittle, dead grass. As he began to trudge inside, he heard someone calling his name. Scorpius turned to see a tall, tan-skinned girl waving at him. Her wavy dark hair and bright blue eyes made her instantly recognizable: Roxanne Weasley.

"Hey, Scorpius!" Roxanne called, holding her broomstick over her head. "Want to practice?" She waved the broomstick, and Scorpius knew that the Weasley cousin was talking about Quidditch. Scorpius was in the mood for Quidditch, so he nodded and ran through the garden to meet Roxanne at the edge of the makeshift Quidditch field. A few gnomes bit and tugged at his feet, but Scorpius kicked them away. Finally, he reached the field where Roxanne was waiting with a Quaffle tucked under one arm and her hand gripped around her _Nimbus 8000 _in the other. Everyone knew the Nimbuses were second only to the Firebolts; Roxanne's family was very wealthy so Scorpius wasn't surprised that she had such an expensive broom.

"I need to train for the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match," explained Roxanne as she mounted her broom and hovered a few inches off of the ground. "If Ravenclaw wins, then we're automatically in the championship. If Gryffindor beats Slytherin in February, then we'll play each other," Roxanne grinned. "I won't go easy if that happens, though. Ravenclaw's winning the Cup three years in a row while I'm captain!"

"How long have you been captain for?" Scorpius asked, mounting his broom and flying a few feet off the earth.

"This is my second year," Roxanne said. Her and Scorpius began to pass the Quaffle to each other as they were talking. "Last year I was the youngest Ravenclaw Captain in three centuries. We _would've _won the Cup last year but the Hufflepuff Beater - not Victoire - knocked our Seeker off of his broom and he broke his arm. The Hufflepuff Seeker was easily able to catch the Snitch after that, even though purposefully trying to break a Seeker's arm is a _foul _- " She angrily chucked the ball at Scorpius, who almost fell backwards off of his Firebolt V from the force of it. "How're you so good at Quidditch, being a first-year?" Roxanne asked interestedly.

"My father has been teaching me how to play since I could walk," Scorpius elaborated. "He brought over the British National Team's coach, Janice Aerpuff and she basically taught me everything I know. I've been playing on the British Youth All-Stars since I was eight, so Quidditch has pretty much been my whole childhood," He shrugged, tossing the ball to Roxanne. "It's nice to see that my hard work has paid off; I definitely expected to make the team my second year but not my first."

Roxanne laughed. "Yeah, well Gryffindor needs a Quidditch star like you after their embarrassing past decade. But honestly, you have a pretty strong team. It's just your Seeker that's bringing you down." She did an elaborate dodge around Scorpius and popped the Quaffle up. Scorpius flipped on his broom and caught it with one hand. He tried the dodge Roxanne had just demonstrated, but failed tremendously and fumbled the Quaffle. He recovered it and passed it to Roxanne, who caught it cleanly.

"Spence?" asked Scorpius, watching the fifth-year as she demonstrated the correct way to do the dodge. Roxanne bobbed with the Quaffle and then did a fancy barrel-roll. The barrel-roll baited Scorpius to take the Quaffle, but before he was able to she flipped up and zoomed away from him. Scorpius was very impressed; he was positive that Roxanne would be picked up by a Quidditch Club the moment she left Hogwarts.

"Yeah," Roxanne said, watching as Scorpius attempted the move. The first time, Scorpius forgot to bob and completely messed up the move. But by the third time, Scorpius was able to demonstrate the dodge slowly but effectively. He grinned and his gray eyes lit up once he had completed the move. "He's an absolute idiot; everyone at Ravenclaw is convinced he's half-blind. Everyone knows he's only on the team because of Oaks."

"That's what James and Fred say," said Scorpius as he tried the dodge on Roxanne. Even though she already knew what was coming, she played along and Scorpius was able to dodge her. He pumped his fist and the air and spun the Quaffle on his finger, grinning at Roxanne. "Speaking of James and Fred, I'm supposed to meet them in a few about some important prank they're planning with Louis..."

Roxanne raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you're in their little clique, are you?" she asked, swiping the Quaffle from Scorpius and doing some dribbles with her feet. To Scorpius's amazement, she was still able to remain on the broomstick while performing the elaborate football-like-dribbles (Scorpius was a secret fan of the strange Muggle sport; he supported Man City). "What to they call themselves again? Fred told me once... ahh, the Rippers?"

"Rapiers," grinned Scorpius, swooping in and nabbing the bouncing Quaffle. He bounced it on his head a few times and threw it up in the air; as it was spinning, he positioned his broom to hit it once it came into range. It began to fall, and Scorpius twisted his broom so that the back of it smacked the Quaffle, launching it some feet away. Roxanne was able to dive for it and return to Scorpius in under ten seconds; Scorpius was very impressed with her skill. "We're an exclusive pranks club," Scorpius said, showing Roxanne his silver ring with the ruby on it; Fred, James and Louis had only recently remembered to present it to him.

"Oh yes, I know all about the Rapiers," Roxanne smiled. She started to descend to the ground, and Scorpius followed her. The sun was really sinking now; the sky was streaked with faint strokes of pink and orange and the clouds were wispy and gray. "They invited me, but I declined. I have a lot more important things to be doing than hanging out with thirteen and fourteen-year-old boys. And eleven-year-olds," She added with a wink at Scorpius.

"You're hanging out with an eleven-year-old right now," pointed out Scorpius slyly.

"You know what I mean," Roxanne responded as they reached the garden. Immediately, the gnomes swarmed around them and Roxanne pulled out her wand. With a flick and a small incantation, the gnomes went flying over the hedge. "I'm not being in a _clique _with kids two years younger than I am. I'm not saying that I won't help out with a prank or two, I just like having friends my own age, yeah?"

The gnomes, terrified of Roxanne's wand, scuffled about and hid among the bushes. Roxanne ignored them and continued to trudge through the garden. Scorpius followed her, examining the exquisiteness of his broom handle. "Yeah," he responded after awhile. "It must be hard being in a different House than all of your cousins and your family, I guess."

"You would know," Roxanne flashed back lightly as they exited the garden. "I know your family, Scorpius. I've been hearing my father tell stories of how he pranked your dad and his cronies for fifteen years. I tried not to judge you when you first stepped foot in Hogwarts, because I kind of understood you. I knew that you had to be somewhat different than your Slytherin family if you were Sorted into another House; especially if you were placed in the oh-so-noble Gryffindor. It was hard for my family to adjust to me being a Ravenclaw at first, but I really like being the only one. I like being different, and I think that's why the Sorting Hat put me in Ravenclaw."

Scorpius opened the front door of the Burrow and allowed Roxanne to step inside the house in front of him. When they entered, no one was in the kitchen or the living room. Scorpius thought this was a little strange, but Roxanne explained. "They're probably out front getting ready for dinner," she said. "Anyway, I'll see you, Scorpius. Louis, James and Fred are probably waiting in the basement for you; that's where they always hang out."

"See you later, Roxanne," Scorpius said as the pretty fifth-year ascended the stairs towards the girls' room. Scorpius rested his Firebolt V against the coat hanger and walked towards a door to the immediate right of the stairs; this door led to the basement. Scorpius had never been in the Burrow's basement, but he figured that Roxanne wasn't trying to pull his leg by sending him down there. He opened the door and began to descend down the dark, creaky stairs.

"Hello?" Scorpius called nervously as the darkness began to surround him. He had left his wand in the boys' room, so he had no source of light. Scorpius wasn't sure that the Rapiers were down here; if there was no light, where could they be? Was Roxanne pulling some sort of prank on him? "Uh, guys? It's me, Scorpius, from the Rapiers - "

"Scorp!" A familiar, confident tone yelled happily from further down the stairs: James. "Ah, I thought you were my mother telling us it was time for dinner at first..." A light above Scorpius flickered on, giving him a clear path down to the basement. "Well, come on in, Scorpius! We were just discussing our prank!"

Scorpius was now able to easily run down the stairs. The stairs ended and a large, carpeted room greeted Scorpius. It was a partially-finished basement; some of the walls weren't completely covered and the ceiling looked like it was about to fall apart, but it was the perfect makeshift clubhouse in Scorpius's opinion. There were large, comfortable looking couches in the center of the room, and in the middle was a large, flat table. Scorpius waved to Fred, Louis and James as he sat down on the couch opposite of the three Rapiers. "What's the plan?" he asked eagerly, leaning in towards the table.

"Oh, you're going to love this one," Louis said. The harsh yellow light above the Weasley boy reflected strangely off of his light-blonde hair, causing it to look almost orange. "It's about the Quidditch team. Being a commentator, I get to see every aspect of the field. And what Gryffindor's _really _struggling with is the - "

" - Seeker," Scorpius interrupted, already knowing the answer. "Yeah, Roxanne and I were already talking about that." At the Rapiers' questioning looks, Scorpius explained. "She and I were practicing Quidditch together only a few minutes ago and she was saying how our Seeker position was struggling."

"I wish she would join the Rapiers!" James said angrily. "I like having only four members, but Roxanne's got the _brains_. I expect she'll be getting at least ten O.W.L.'s this year, what do you think, mate?" He directed his latter question at Fred, Roxanne's brother. They shared the same blue eyes, the same olive-colored skin and the same dark-brown wavy hair. If they weren't two years apart, Scorpius would've thought they were twins.

"Eleven's my guess," grinned Fred. "But James, remember, we recruited Scorpius because he's smart. We couldn't recruit someone like Rose or Molly or Lucy because they'd be too chicken to carry through with the prank _and _they'd tell on us to Professor Longbottom or something. Scorpius is our guy, alright? Let's just tell him the plan."

"Yeah, alright," James said, leaning in towards the table. "Anyway, Fred and I have already expressed our concerns about our failing Quidditch team. Spence is a _joke_. We need to get rid of him," He paused, surveying Scorpius. Scorpius personally thought getting rid of Spence was a great idea, but it sounded risky. Did James _really _mean 'get rid of Spence' as in hurting him or just 'getting rid of him' as in expelling him?

"I'm in," confirmed Scorpius, itching to hear more of the plan. "I'm sick of his arrogant attitude. I've never seen him catch the Snitch, even in practice!"

"Exactly," said Fred. "So that's why we're storming up ideas to get rid of Spence for the time being. The thing is, we can't _really _hurt Spence because we want him to be able to attend his N.E.W.T. exams in the summer. We just need him out for awhile so that we can hold Seeker tryouts and so that he's out of the way for both the Slytherin game in February and the Ravenclaw championship - if we make it - in the spring."

"We need your brains," Louis continued. "You're clever. You come from Slytherin stock; you must know how to get around the rules a bit. James, Fred and I do, as well, but we need someone who can think of something ingenious but is able to cover up their tracks. Our - " Louis motioned to him, Fred and James, " - problem is that we always get caught. You're sneaky and stealthy."

"What we're asking," James said. "Is do you have any ideas? Can you think of a plan to send Spence away or to the Hospital Wings for a few months?"

All of the Rapiers' eyes were trained on Scorpius. Scorpius was surprised; how was he supposed to think of a plan in thirty seconds? Sighing, he began, "Well, you've hardly given me any time to think... but I don't think you need to send Spence to the Hospital Wing for five months," At the Rapiers' confused expressions, Scorpius elaborated. "See, you just need Spence out of the way for about a month or two. When Oaks realizes that his Seeker isn't going to make the Slytherin game, he'll have to hold tryouts for a replacement, right? And when that Seeker wins us the Slytherin game, then Oaks will _have _to get rid of Spence. The team's already sick of Spence, so it'll be easy to convince Oaks. But this plan will only work if we can a) find a Seeker and b) make sure that the Seeker catches the Snitch in the Slytherin game."

There was a moment of silence. Scorpius noticed that all of the Rapiers were looking immensely impressed; James's mouth was even open a little bit. "Well," Fred said, glancing to his left and right at Louis and James respectively, "Now you get why we hired him, eh?"

"We've already figured out part A, I think," Louis said with a quick look to James. "The obvious choice for the Seeker is Albus. I'm not sure how Oaks will feel about letting another first-year try out, but if Spence is injured I'm sure he'll be desperate..." He shrugged at Scorpius. "Right?"

"You're right," nodded James. "I don't know if we should let Al in on the plan, though. He hasn't proven himself worthy yet. I don't think he'll react well to this prank. Anyway, convincing Al to tryout will be easy; he's been dying at a chance to prove himself as a better Seeker than my dad for forever. He'll catch the Snitch; the Slytherin Seeker, Caspian Goyle, is a dud," All of the Rapiers glanced at each other, laughing; Scorpius had told them all about his prank to Goyle. They had been even more delighted when the news of Goyle's boggart had leaked out to the entire school.

"So if Al can catch the Snitch, we've got part B worked out, as well," Fred grinned. "But there's one more thing? How do we get rid of Spence for two months?"

"I think I've got that worked out, as well," Scorpius murmured, smiling widely. "Listen closely, guys..."

* * *

Long chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Just realized that I accidentally spelled "Louis Weasley" as "Lewis Weasley" throughout the entire book... ahh. I just fixed it all, sorry about that!

Anyway, sort of a recovery chapter for Scorp... hints of the plot are being shown. Please remember to review review REVIEW! x


	15. F O U R T E E N

**Chapter Fourteen: The New Seeker**

"Huh," Rose's surprised voice muttered over the babble of the voices conversing around the Trio, "Wow, look at this, guys. This is interesting." She stuck the _Daily Prophet _in Scorpius and Albus's faces. Scorpius, slightly curious, raised his eyes from his dinner and scanned the article that Rose was pointing to. It was on the front page; under the blaring headline 'MUGGLE-BORN MINISTRY WORKER MYSTERIOUSLY KILLED' was a picture of a dead, skinny man with a strange marking burning over him. It was a circle with a cross in the middle. _Where have I seen that symbol before? _Scorpius wondered.

His mind was still tired from the excruciatingly long train ride that he had just escaped from. Only eight hours ago, Scorpius was asleep in his cozy bed at the Weasleys' house. Now, he was eating dinner in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. All of the Christmas decorations were gone and they were now replaced by wintery-themed ones; Scorpius would have looked around in amazement if he wasn't so tired.

Earlier, on the train ride, Scorpius had received a letter from his father about his mother. She had passed away peacefully and painlessly that morning. Scorpius was sad, but he had already recognized the fact that she was dying, so the news didn't hit him quite hard. Scorpius had begun accepting the fact that his mother was dead on Christmas Day; by now, he had just gotten used to the fact that he would never have a mother again.

Albus's voice interrupted Scorpius's thoughts. "A Muggle-born hasn't been 'mysteriously killed' in nineteen years," he murmured. "I know that for a fact. My dad was just telling me how accepting everyone has become of Muggle-borns. D'you think...?"

"Voldemort's coming back?" Rose asked dryly, rolling her eyes. "Of course not. I can see where you're coming from, though. That mark above the man is very strange, it's almost like that symbol Voldemort's followers would shoot into the air after they've killed someone," Albus looked uncertain, but Rose continued. "Even if Voldemort _was_ back - which he's not, since your dad killed him, Albus - this mark wouldn't be shining over the man, Voldemort's mark would have been burning over him. This is an entirely different movement..."

They both looked expectantly at Scorpius, who shrugged. He was too tired to care that some Muggle-born Ministry worker had died; sure, it was sad, but his mother had just died, but where was her headline? _Maybe if she was Muggle-born, people would care, _Scorpius thought bitterly. _All people care about these days are Muggle-borns. Everyone thinks purebloods are nasty villains._ "I 'unno," he muttered, munching on a chicken leg. "I recognize that symbol from somewhere, though."

"Where?" Rose asked eagerly, folding her paper.

"If I knew, I would've _told _you," hissed Scorpius angrily. He was in an awful mood; he just wanted to _sleep_. But he also knew it wasn't fair to take out his rage at the past week on Rose, who had always been nothing but kind to Scorpius. At her upset expression, Scorpius said, "Look, I've had a really tough day and I'm really sorry..."

"We're both really sorry about your mother," said Rose haughtily; clearly, she was really offended by Scorpius's tone. "And everything you've been through in the past week, alright? But we're just trying to distract you from that, and you're just snapping at both of us. Can't you let us help you?"

"Help is a weakness," growled Scorpius, finishing his treacle tart. "I'm just really tired and I'm kind of sick of everyone trying to relate to me. No one _knows _me. No one in this whole - _bloody -_ Hall has been through _anything _as awful as what I had to deal with in the past week, and everyone thinks that they've been through the same stuff - " He stabbed his mince pies angrily. " - and - they - _haven't. _Just..." Scorpius felt three presences emerge behind him.

"Ahh, teen angst," Louis said happily, giving Scorpius a welcoming clap on the back. Scorpius refused to turn around to look at the blonde Weasley cousin. "You're not even a teenager and you're already complaining about your life. Chin up, Scorp, we want to show you something." Scorpius ignored him and continued to stab at his mince pies until they had turned into mush.

"His mother just died, you insensitive pricks," Albus hissed from across the table.

Fred, Louis and James's arrogant expressions faltered for a moment. "Oh," James muttered, looking incredibly guilty. Then, his features lit up and he started to grin. "Well, all the more reason to get your mind off of things, right?" When Scorpius didn't move, James grabbed Scorpius's arms and dragged him from the table. "C'mon, pal, let's go - "

"I - just - want - to - sleep - " snarled Scorpius, flailing his arms and his legs as the three triplet-cousins tried to haul him from the table. "Just - go - to - bed - leave - me - alone!" However, they didn't listen and proceeded to carry the blonde-haired-boy from the Hall and towards the doors. Before he exited the Hall, he saw Rose and Albus wave a feeble good-bye to him.

Soon, he found himself outside of the Hogwarts Castle and sprawled out on the grounds, the three Rapiers towering over him. "Cheer up," Fred said, extending a hand for Scorpius to take. Scorpius refused; he turned over in the grass, refusing to look at any of them. _Can't you just leave me alone? _he thought desperately. His eyelids were beginning to droop. _Ah, finally... sleep..._

"Wake up!" called James. "Here, I know a little spell that'll take all of the sleep out of you! C'mon, Scorpius, you're going to be so glad that we let you in on our most secret plan of all! It's the biggest secret any of us have, right, mates?" Scorpius heard a doubtful grunt from Louis and a 'definitely' from Fred. "Well, Louis is a pretty shady dude. _I _heard that he was caught robbing the gillyweed stores only a few months ago - "_  
_

" - that was Tony Harwick!" Louis said indignantly. "He offered me some, but I said _no, _I would not like to turn into a fish for an hour thank you very much - "

" - I have something even better than a spell that'll cheer you up," Fred exclaimed to Scorpius. There was a rustle and Scorpius assumed that Fred was pulling something out of his pocket. "My own creation," he said proudly to James and Louis. "They're called Happy Honeys! They instantly make the user cheerful! They taste really good, too." He bent down and flipped Scorpius over. Scorpius opened his eyes wearily and saw that Fred was attempting to shove a small, toffee-colored bean in his mouth. Scorpius opened his mouth to resist, but Fred easily popped the candy in and Scorpius reluctantly swallowed it._  
_

Immediately, Scorpius felt warm and fuzzy as happiness overtook the anger and sadness clouding his mad. He was filled with a new warmth and fire that he had never felt before. Opening his eyes wide, he stared in awe at Fred. "You made this yourself?" Scorpius said incredulously. When he stood up, he felt as if he was floating. "Wow, this is the most incredible thing I've ever had!"

Fred smiled smugly at Scorpius. "Glad to see I finally perfected it," he said, with a strange look. It seemed as if he was remembering a painful or rather embarrassing moment. "It took a while to perfect, like, one time - "

" - story time can wait," James said with a glance at the sky. It was almost pitch-black dark outside; the quarter-moon floated silently overhead, the dark wintery clouds threatening to obstruct it. "We have to show Scorpius what we're up to, and quickly, before the teachers start to patrol the grounds for the night." When everyone hesitated, he rolled his brown eyes. "Come _on!_" He tore off towards the direction of the Quidditch pitch.

Confused, Scorpius followed the three Rapiers as they sprinted in the night. He dodged tree stumps, brambles and bushes as he adventured towards the deserted stadium. Suddenly, as they were about to reach the stands, James veered right and Scorpius slid forwards in an attempt to follow him. He fell but was able to scramble up immediately and run off after his fellow Rapiers.

"This is it," James was now next to the Black Lake, his head craned up to look at a humongous tree. It had low, thick branches that were ideal for climbing. Scorpius tried to look up at the top of the tree, but it was so thick with leaves that Scorpius couldn't see what James was pointing at. "Come on, guys. Louis and Fred, you know the way. Scorpius... follow me."

The Rapiers began to ascend the tree. Scorpius, who was very thin, was easily able to slide in-between the branches and leaves as he made his way up to the top. Fred, who was broad-chested, was having some difficulties. Finally, after Scorpius was scrapped and scratched countless times from the sharp branches, they reached a thick floor-like area of branches. James pulled himself up from the branch below it and stood on the branch-floor, waving at everyone to follow him. "It's cool up here, Scorpius. We're the first people to discover this place."

Scorpius hauled himself up the final few branches until he reached the peculiar web of branches. James was turned towards the trunk of the gigantic tree; it appeared as if he was looking for something in the bark of the tree. Scorpius glanced over and saw Louis help pull Fred up the tree; after they were balanced on the branch-floor, they walked over to where James was playing around with the bark and began to help him. _What's going on? _Scorpius thought.

"Aha!" Louis finally said at last. Scorpius looked over to see the blonde Weasley cousin carrying a stack of books. With a grunt, he dropped the pile of the books onto a thick branch, where they landed with a 'thump!'. The branch was so thick that none of the books had fallen in-between the cracks of the tangled mess of twigs and wings of the giant tree. Scorpius swiveled his head to read the titles of the books; they had very strange names like 'The Animagi' and 'Advanced Transformation for Aspiring Animagi'. Scorpius felt a jolt of surprise in his stomach; there was no way...

"You guys aren't... trying to become Animagi, are you?" Scorpius asked lightly, as if he was telling a joke. "You must be kidding... only trained and experienced wizards can _attempt _becoming Animagi, and even if you do study enough to try the process, it can go awfully wrong. My dad knows this one guy who did it all completely wrong and - "

" - Whoa, whoa," Fred said, holding up a hand to indicate Scorpius to stop talking. "Why're you acting like Lucy Weasley all of the sudden? I thought you liked the risk. Are you scared now, Scorpius?" Fred said the latter in a condescending, teasing tone. Scorpius immediately flared up; he _wasn't _acting like Lucy Weasley, he was just trying to talk some sense into the Rapiers because Scorpius knew how stupid of an idea this was.

"Yeah, we were gonna ask you to join in," said James, leaning against the trunk. He was watching Scorpius with narrowed eyes; did he look suspicious? "Huh, I never thought you'd be the one to doubt us, Sco - "

" - I'm not doubting you," Scorpius interrupted James, annoyed. "I'm just _saying_, if you screw up... then... there's just bad consequences, alright?"_  
_

"The Marauders did it," Louis murmured, poring over an extremely old-looking textbook. "They did it their fifth year. I figure we'll perfect it at about then, eh, James?"

"Yeah, but we _all_ know the story," Scorpius rolled his eyes, exasperated. "They only learned how to be Animagi because their friend, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf. They wanted to help him through that - don't look at me all surprised, Albus has told me the story thousands of times - so what I'm saying is, I don't really understand the point of studying Animagi for years. Like, what are you even going to do when you're Animagi?"

"He brings up a valid point," Fred shrugged to a confused-looking James. Fred turned his blue eyes back to Scorpius. "Sure, the Marauders may have had a reason for wanting to be Animagi, and it's probably more practical than ours, but we have a goal, Scorpius. The castle has been completely redone ever since the Battle of Hogwarts, and our goal is to find every secret passageway and room that we possibly can, and maybe even make a Rapiers' Map. The Rapiers' Map, of course, would have a lot more features and be improved - "

" - So you're trying to become the second Marauders?" Scorpius interrupted.

"Well, yeah," James said. "They were brave guys - except for that prat, Wormtail - so I don't think that's a bad goal. Scorpius, you seem pretty doubtful; are you in, or not?"

"'In' what?" asked Scorpius. This was one of the stupidest plans he had ever heard of, and usually Scorpius loved the thrill of breaking the rules. "If you're asking me if I want to become an Animagus, the answer is that I really don't. I'm only a first-year; and plus, I don't want the process to go wrong for me. But, I'd be willing to help you guys out with the process if you're really set on becoming unregistered Animagi."

"Fair enough," Fred said with a glance to his comrades; Louis looked skeptical, while James's face was expressionless. "I think we need someone to help us, anyway. But Scorpius, you _really _need to promise to us that you won't tell a _soul _about what we're doing - Albus included. We would probably get expelled if someone found out we were attempting to be unregistered Animagi." He said the latter seriously, his blue eyes troubled.

"I know what you're thinking," grinned Louis to a confused-looking Scorpius. "You're wondering why we're so concerned about being expelled. Except for Freddie, none of us have a family business to lean on, so I suppose we have to care a _little _about education. Our pranks are strategically thought-out and sneakily conducted in a careful manner so that we can avoid expulsion at all costs, but with that being said, we're not _scared_ of being expelled. We know that we'll only be kicked out if they found us doing something really stupid and harmful - like becoming Animagi, for instance."

There was a moment of silence. Scorpius had never really thought about the fact that the Weasleys were on their own after Hogwarts before; except for Fred, Roxanne, Rose and Hugo, who could always go into the Wizard Wheezes family business, none of the Weasleys had a guaranteed job after they graduated. Scorpius, unlike George and Ron Weasley's children, would probably never have to work a day in his life - he was the heir of the Malfoy Fortune, which kept getting bigger day by day.

"Alright," Scorpius said after a long pause. "I swear on all the gold in my vault that I will not tell a single soul what you all are up to, and that I'll help you in any way I can with your - ah, quest - to become Animagi."

"Good swear!" James clapped Scorpius on the back. "A part of me's hoping that you tell on us so I can get that billion-Galleon fortune!"

Fred yawned, stretching his arms. "I think we should go back," he murmured with a glance at the rising moon, "We do have a prank to play on Spence, after all."

* * *

"This is it?"

Scorpius was holding a small flask in his hand. It contained a strange purple liquid; when he lightly shook the flask, golden flecks appeared on the potion. Scorpius's gray eyes rested on James's delighted visage. Next to him, Fred was grinning excitedly, his eyes bouncing over a smug-looking Louis Weasley. Fred bent forward to examine it and nodded excitedly to Scorpius. "This is the one," Fred confirmed the first-year's question. "It's guaranteed to give Spence the flu for at least a month. It won't kill him, though; I developed and tested it myself."

"Since when were you sick for a month?" James asked suspiciously with a narrowed glance at his cousin.

"I wasn't," Fred said. "I had the antidote, so I tested it out for a few days and when I became tired of being sick, I just popped the antidote in my mouth and I was alright."

"Then how do you know the effects last for a month?" Scorpius rolled his eyes, exasperated. "We might be killing him..."

"... Wouldn't really be a loss..." snorted Louis.

"I don't," shrugged Fred, looking indifferent. "But I figure if something bad happens, we can just sneak him the antidote and he'll be all cleared up. And hopefully, by then, we'd have our new Seeker..." Fred glanced to the three Rapiers, who nodded their heads in agreement. Gryffindor _needed _to beat Slytherin to take back some of their former glory; and plus, Scorpius didn't want his father to brag to Scorpius about how his former House, Slytherin, had beaten them. _Who cares if Spence is hurt? _Scorpius thought, the desire to prove himself burning in him stomach, _We'll fix him up, fine. I won't let Gryffindor lose to Slytherin._

"Ready?" James asked to Scorpius, who was deep in thought. Scorpius jerked, looking guiltily at the three; they had clearly been talking about something. Scorpius glanced at the delicious-looking liquid in his hands and nodded gravelly. The other Rapiers patted him on the back as he strode away from the corner they were talking in and approached the Great Hall. With a glance around the Entrance Hall to make sure no one was watching, Scorpius threw the Invisibility Cloak over himself and walked up to the closed doors of the Great Hall.

Scorpius swung the doors open and stalked towards the Gryffindor table, the flask clutched in his left hand. He scanned the table, looking for a familiar face. It was the morning after the Animagi incident, and it seemed like everyone at the school was eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Scorpius was still having trouble finding Spence's messy brown hair... _there!_ Spence was poring over a piece of parchment while stuffing eggs and toast in his mouth. _Easy prey, _thought Scorpius, slowly approaching his target and unscrewing his flask. There was an open seat next to Spence, and Scorpius took it. Making sure that no one was watching, Scorpius stuffed Spence's goblet of pumpkin juice under the Invisibility Cloak. Scorpius quickly pored the liquid in the flask into the goblet; to Scorpius's surprise, it didn't affect the color of the orangey pumpkin juice at all.

Spence was beginning to reach for his goblet, his eyes trained on the parchment. A jolt of realization stabbed Scorpius's stomach as he quickly shoved the goblet out of the Invisibility Cloak and towards Spence's hand. Right as the goblet touched the table, Spence grabbed it in his hand and downed the goblet, licking his lips at the taste of the pumpkin juice. Feeling a tad bit guilty, Scorpius turned around and trotted out of the Great Hall.

* * *

The freezing, harsh winter air whipped against Scorpius's face as he sprinted towards the Quidditch pitch. His scarlet-and-gold scarf flapped against his chest as he covered his hands over his face in an attempt to stop the slashing winter winds. A light layer of snow covered the grounds; however, this snow had frozen overnight, turning into ice. Scorpius slipped and fell multiple times during his struggle to get to the Quidditch pitch. Finally, after gaining quite a bit of bruises on his knees, elbows and shoulders, Scorpius reached the Gryffindor changing rooms. He fumbled the doorknob and crashed into the room, panting and breathing heavily.

"S-sorry," he stammered when he saw five older faces staring at him. "G-got late out'a D-defense A-a-against the Dark A-arts..." he coughed and staggered over to his cubby. He was about to grab his broomstick when Jane Thomas rushed over to him and flicked her wand, muttering an incantation that Scorpius didn't recognize. Immediately, Scorpius felt his entire face and body warm up. He glanced gratefully at the sixth-year and murmured a 'thank-you'.

When Scorpius changed into his robes and took his seat, Oaks asked him, "Scorp, did you see Spence anywhere behind you? He left the Hospital Wing from Potions saying that he was sick - " Fred and James winked at Scorpius; Scorpius would've given them a thumbs-up, but Oaks was watching him carefully and Scorpius didn't want the Gryffindor Captain to be suspicious, " - but I thought that he was just being a baby. So, did you see him anywhere? It's not like him to be _that _late..."

"... Spence makes me late all the time..." Spikes rolled his eyes. There was a murmur of approval from Fred, James and Jane Thomas.

"... no, I didn't see him," Scorpius said as innocently as he could. Scorpius was an excellent liar; he had learned from the best, after all. Scorpius had seen his father lie to Ministry officials and their servants so many times that it came as a second nature to Scorpius. Scorpius could always tell when his father was lying, though... a twitch in his left eye, the tug of his indifferent face... Scorpius was very good at reading people. And right now, Oaks looked as if he believed Scorpius. _Thank Merlin._

"Let's hope Spence isn't sick for _too long_," James added with a grin to Scorpius.

"It'd be a _real shame _if he missed our big game against Slytherin that's coming up," Fred said faux-sadly with a wink.

"I'm sure it's just a small cold," Oaks said indifferently. "We don't even really need the Seeker here to practice strategies and stuff - "

"- yeah, it's a real shame Spence isn't here for practice being that it's the one of the many things he _needs_ - " James muttered. Spikes, Jane and Fred all grinned in approval of James's comment, while Oaks shot James a glare but didn't respond. _It's really not going to be that hard to convince Oaks to get rid of Spence if this whole plan works out, _realized Scorpius. _The whole team hates him!_

"Anyway, we can do without Spence for today," Oaks said stubbornly. "Spence probably just ate something funny; he'll be fine tomorrow." He shuffled out of the changing rooms, followed by the delighted-looking Gryffindors. Scorpius was a bit apprehensive about practicing in the freezing cold, but with a wave of her wand Jane claimed that she had just blocked all of the wind from hitting Scorpius's face.

"If only Oaks knew," Fred snickered as the Gryffindors exited the changing rooms, "A day? Ha! We'll keep Spence cooped in the Hospital Wing as long as we want..."

* * *

A little on the short side... next chapter is eventful.

Please _review_ **review **review! A little disheartening to see 15 chapters and 15 reviews, but I love you guys for your loyalty, don't get me wrong! Just keep reviewing! I love to hear what you guys think! Much love thanks for reading Xxxxx


	16. F I F T E E N

**Chapter Fifteen: The Lion**

The cold, harsh winds of January continued on throughout the rest of the month. As January ended, a huge snowstorm crashed ahead of the castle, causing four feet of snow. The howling gales and whipping breezes caused miniature snow-tornados that spun around the yards and frightened the students. Because of the awful weather, Quidditch practices were cancelled for the middle two weeks of January.

Spence was still in the Hospital Wing with an awful flu that not even Madame Pomfrey could cure. He was going to be moved to St. Mungo's the second week of January, but because of the weather he was stuck at school for another week or so. Oaks took this as a sign that Spence would soon come back to the Seeker position and refused to hold tryouts for another Seeker, much to the other teammates' anger.

No one was allowed outside of the castle (even the Herbology classes were cancelled), so the Gryffindor Quidditch team had to hold their meetings in an abandoned Charms classroom on the fifth floor. It was the last week of January and the snow had started to clear up. The next day, Spence was to be transferred to St. Mungo's for further treatment. This fact caused the debate that was exploding between the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"If he's going to St. Mungo's, he's not going to be ready for the Slytherin game in February," Jane Thomas growled to a stubborn Oaks. Oaks was still convinced that Spence would magically be cured and would be able to play in the big Quidditch match in three weeks. "We need to hold tryouts to find a new Seeker, or we risk forfeiting the game."

"He'll be back," Oaks said stubbornly. "I don't know why you all are so eager to give up on Spence."

"Maybe because he's never caught the Snitch _once _in his entire _career_," snorted James, glaring at Oaks. Fred was beside him, his hands crossed over his chest. Their expressions were always so similar; Scorpius had to keep reminding himself that the two weren't twins. "He's only on the team because he's your best friend, Tiger, and everyone knows that - "

" - even the other Houses are starting to remind us," continued Fred, his lip curled into a sneer due to Oaks's stupidity. Scorpius remembered that Fred and James's scary looks and condescending tones had once been directed towards them; the first-year was thankful that he wasn't on their bad side anymore. "We finally have a chance to win the Cup this year, Oaks! We need a great Seeker to win us the game."

"There _aren't _any Seekers at Gryffindor besides Spence," argued Oaks. His broad-shoulders and angry visage made him look absolutely terrifying. "If there was anyone better than Spence, I would know."

"You _wouldn't_," flashed James. "Ever since you became Captain, you've never held a Seeker tryout. How are you supposed to know if there's no other good Seekers in Gryffindor if you've never bothered to see any of them play?" Scorpius had to agree with James; Oaks was being so narrow-minded. Scorpius flashed a gray-eyed glare at Oaks. Did Oaks really want to win the Quidditch Cup or not?

"But what if Spence comes back," Oaks said desperately. "What if he comes back to a new Seeker? That won't be fair - "

"Alright, fine," Jane Thomas growled from the back. Spikes was sitting next to her, his eyes narrowed at Oaks and his arms crossed like Fred. Spikes, however, was much bigger and burlier than Fred; if there was one person on the team that intimidated Scorpius, it was Sam Spikes. "How about we compromise? If Spence is well enough for the Slytherin game, he can play. But, if our new Seeker catches the Snitch during the Slytherin game, you have to let Spence go."

"_What?_" sputtered Oaks. "You _really _think I'm going to agree to a plan like that - "

"Yeah, I do," Jane raised her eyebrows, indifferent to Oaks's anger. Scorpius's respect for the speedy Chaser rose; Scorpius didn't know if he could maintain a level expression if Oaks was ever challenging him. "You said there was no Seeker talent in Gryffindor, so if you're right, then there's no way our new Seeker will be able to catch the Snitch while facing against a seasoned Seeker. And plus, Slytherin's Seeker, Ted Nott, is supposed to be the best in Hogwarts right now. How will our new, inexperienced Seeker compete with that?"

Oaks's lip was trembling; he knew he had just been outsmarted by Jane Thomas. His gaze raked across the abandoned classroom; everyone on the team was giving him a glare. "Fine," he muttered after a moment's pause. "But the rest of the team has to agree on it."

"Alright," Jane shrugged; she already knew that everyone was going to support her. "Fine with me. Okay, guys, raise your hand if you agree with my plan about Spence and a new Seeker - " Before she had stopped speaking, everyone in the room except for Oaks had their hand raised. Grinning, Jane turned to Oaks. "Is that good enough for you, Oaks?"

Oaks looked mutinous. "Fine, then," he growled, clearly upset that no one was supporting his friend. "We'll hold Seeker tryouts this Saturday. I'll post a notice in the Common Room, but I want you all to get the word out..."

"That's only a week from the game!" James's eyes widened.

Oaks grinned maliciously. "I know. All the more tougher for the Seeker to catch the Snitch, eh?" And with that, he stalked out of the room, his broad-shoulders raised as he puffed out his chest in triumph.

* * *

"Come on, Albus, you'll do _fine_!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, exasperated, as he grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged him out of the Great Hall. Albus sputtered, trying to grab onto his toast for one last bite, but dropped it and cursed. Scorpius glanced back to find Albus clutching onto his Nimbus 8000 tightly as he looked at Scorpius, his bright green eyes wide with fear. As they exited the Entrance Hall and emerged onto the grounds, Albus looked uncertain. "I don't know if I can do this, Scorpius - I mean, I don't think Oaks will let another first-year on the team - "

" - once he sees you play, he won't care what year you are," Scorpius said determinedly, letting go of Albus's arm and allowing his friend to catch up with him. Rose was already at the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius knew that she was equipped with Omnioculars so she could have a better view of the tryout. "Plus, you're Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's son. Harry Potter was one of the greatest Seekers Hogwarts had ever seen, and your mother was a professional Quidditch player for Merlin's sake. You'll be excellent!"

"I don't think so, Scorp," Albus looked dejectedly at his broom as if there was something wrong with it (there definitely wasn't, Scorpius knew, because the Nimbus 8000's were almost as good as the Firebolt IV's). "I just don't want to screw up and for everyone to think that I'm some sort of disgrace to my mother and father for being a failure at Quidditch, you know?"

"No, but I know you're being ridiculous," Scorpius muttered. They had almost reached the Quidditch pitch now; Scorpius could see the mass of people crowding around the entrance to the field, waiting to get in. _This is way more people than the Chaser tryouts! _Scorpius thought. He knew he had to comfort his friend somehow; he glanced back to see Albus looking as if he was about to be sick. "Look, _James_ said you were good at Quidditch, alright? And your brother and you argue all the time; and plus, I've seen you play before and you're the best Seeker I've ever seen. C'mon," Scorpius said the latter hurriedly, grabbing his friend's sleeve and pushing him towards the crowd of people.

Albus gave Scorpius a terrified look as Scorpius began to walk away from him towards the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "You'll do great!" Scorpius waved to him, but Albus didn't look convinced. He gave Scorpius a weak smile and began to examine his broom. Scorpius could see that Albus was extremely nervous, but knew that Albus was very good under pressure. _He'll do great. He has to do great if we want to win the Cup._

"Ah, you're here," Oaks's voice threw Scorpius out of his thoughts. Scorpius glanced around to see that he was the last one to arrive in the huddle. He began to mutter an apology, but Oaks cut him off. " - Yeah, I saw you helping out your friend, it's alright - " He turned back to the team. "Anyway, you guys have probably noticed this but, uh, this is the biggest turnout we've had at a tryout so far... so, uh..." Oaks looked uneasy. "Yeah. I'll split everyone into six stations; Scorpius, second-years; James, third-years; Fred, fourth-years - "

" - Hang on, why do _I _get the third-years?" James interrupted, glaring at Oaks. "Is this because I'm worse than Quidditch at Fred or something - "

" - Shut up, James, I just looked at you first," Oaks hissed angrily to the brown-haired Potter boy. Clearly, Oaks wanted this tryout over as soon as possible. "Jane, fifth-years; Spikes, sixth-years; and I'll evaluate the seventh-years. Send the best of each group - only one person per year - to the center of the pitch after you look at them for a bit. Then, we'll pit the six people against each other and evaluate them from there as a team. We should be able to come to a conclusion by the end of today, okay?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Round up your years."

Scorpius walked away, glad that he had the second-years. This meant that he could just mix Albus with the second-years. He strode onto the field, waving his wand. It felt good to have some authority, even if he was a first-year. "Second-years and Albus Potter to me!" he yelled, flicking his wand and emitting blue sparks. Scorpius knew that Albus was the only first-year Gryffindor trying out, so he wasn't concerned by singling Albus Potter out.

A pack of second-years stalked up to Scorpius, followed by a nervous-looking Albus Potter. With a pang in his stomach, Scorpius noticed that all of the second-years towered over them. They seemed to realize this, too; they looked down at Scorpius and flexed their muscles threateningly. Scorpius glanced around and already knew which ones to eliminate. The bigger ones would definitely not make the team; Gryffindor needed a small, thin and speedy Seeker.

"Okay," Scorpius laughed nervously. "Ah, if you could all follow me, I'm going to evaluate you all over here..." Scorpius walked over to the Hufflepuff stands, the large second-years following him. Albus trotted behind the second-years; he was smart enough to not try to talk to Scorpius. Once Scorpius reached the edge of the field, he stopped and drew two Snitches from his pocket. "Alright," Scorpius said, facing the pitch. "If I could have a line on my left and a line on my right..."

Scorpius created his own little drill where he separated the group into two lines; then, he would throw out the Snitch and see who could get it first. He repeated this drill for awhile until he managed to discern the decent flyers from the awful ones. Scorpius had been right at the beginning; the big, muscular brutes were terrible at flying and at Seeking. Scorpius let them go immediately after they fell off their brooms.

By the end of the drill, he had two people. Albus Potter had completely outshone all of the second-years in the tryout but Scorpius wanted to make it fair and kept a half-decent second-year by the name of Clay Carver. Albus and Clay lined up on either side of Scorpius. The snitch was clutched in Scorpius's right hand. Glancing to each side, Scorpius said, "Ready?" Albus nodded, his gaze locked forward, and Carver gave him a thumbs-up. "Three... two... one... go!" Scorpius threw the Snitch and Albus shot after it, followed more slowly by Carver.

It wasn't even a competition. Albus soared up in the air and grabbed the Snitch out of the air while Carver circled below him, still looking for the golden winged-ball. Albus descended to the ground, his grin lighting up his face and the Snitch clutched in his hands. Carver hopped off his broom behind Albus and sadly walked away, shaking his head. The youngest Potter boy smiled widely at Scorpius, glancing down at the Snitch. "So, what does this mean?" Albus asked, smiling. "I win this group?"

"Yeah," Scorpius dismissed the other second-years and walked Albus to the center of the field. The rest of the Gryffindor team were beginning to wrap up their drills; Scorpius had to duck numerous times to avoid being crashed into by people whizzing by on their broomsticks. "You move on to the next round with five other people. The whole team evaluates you from there." Albus's expression looked uncertain, but Scorpius continued. "Look, you already have James, Fred and I on your side. That's half the vote! If you just keep doing what you did in my station, there's not a doubt in my mind that you'll make the team."

By the time Scorpius had finished, he had arrived in the center of the field. Oaks was the only other one that had finished his drill; he was standing next to a large, plump boy. "Only seventh-year that turned up," explained Oaks, observing Albus. "Ah, is this the second-year that won your drill, Scorpius? He looks like he's built for a Seeker, what's your name?"

"He's a first-year, actually," Scorpius said. Oaks looked doubtful, but Scorpius continued. "This is Albus Potter, Harry Potter's son and James's brother. I bet you've heard of his mom, Ginny Weasley, on the Hollyhead Harpies - " Oaks nodded, looking a bit impressed, " - and his dad, Harry, was probably the best Seeker that Gryffindor's ever seen. You can only imagine how good Al is." Scorpius patted Albus's back, and Oaks shrugged.

"As long as he outflies everyone else, I'm fine with another first-year," Oaks muttered; however, he didn't sound like he enjoyed the idea of having another first-year on the team at all. "He's small and lean; the perfect build for a Seeker. He just needs to be tough." There was a flicker of doubt in Oaks's eyes; clearly, he thought Scorpius had chosen Albus because they were friends.

"He's been playing around with James and Fred his whole life," Scorpius explained. "He's more than tough."

"Fair enough," Oaks smiled encouragingly to Albus, who was looking a bit more confident at Oaks's approval. "I'm interested to see how you fly, Albus Potter..." His gaze whipped up behind Scorpius's shoulder, and Scorpius turned around to see Spikes and James approaching with their recruits. One was a girl; Scorpius recognized her as Professor Longbottom's daughter, Au Longbottom. She was a pureblood, just like Scorpius, and had a clumsy but determined aura about her. Spikes's pick was a stringy, tall sixth-year boy who looked a little intimidating.

"Au Longbottom," Spikes motioned to Au, who gave Oaks and Scorpius a friendly wave, "and Lance Knox." Spikes approached Oaks and murmured something into his ear, Scorpius caught 'only decent sixth-year, can't really fly' and 'Au's good but clumsy as ever, that's what James said' and finally, 'who the hell is the kid next to you?'. Oaks muttered something to Spikes about his recruit and Spikes nodded and backed up.

By the time Oaks and Spikes had finished their conversation, Fred and Jane had arrived with their recruits. One was a pretty blonde fourth-year, while the other was a tough-looking fifth-year. "This is Annabel Croft," he said with a grin and a wink at James, who was looking extremely jealous. "And ah, I think Jane's recruit's name is Jacob Gladstone, right?" Jane nodded. "Anyway, wow, you all should've seen Annabel fly, she outflew - "

" - Shut up, Fred, we'll all see her fly in a few minutes," Oaks growled to Fred, who shrugged and winked again at a smug-looking James. "Anyway, can all of the prospects please step forward? By the way, everyone, this is our seventh-year Tyler - " Everyone eyed Tyler strangely; he had no Seeker build whatsoever. "Prospects, please step up..." Albus, Au, Lance, Tyler, Annabel and Jacob all stepped forward, all glancing at each other warily, "Okay, we have a fun little drill for you guys. Even numbers, so this'll work out perfectly... James and Fred, bring out your bats and Bludgers, please? And Scorpius, come here, I'll tell you what we're doing..."

Oaks was doing the same drill that Scorpius had done with his second-years, but with a twist. James and Fred would be hitting Bludgers at the prospect Seekers while Scorpius would be weaving in-between them to try to throw them off. Jane, Spikes and Oaks would be evaluating and watching from the ground. Scorpius thought this was a very good plan; it gave Albus an advantage because this was the same drill that Scorpius had used with Albus's group.

The prospects all lined up in two lines behind Oaks. Scorpius was already up in the air, doing figure-eights while Oaks was explaining the rules. When he got dizzy, Scorpius descended a bit and waited for the drill to start. Albus would be going second and he would be fighting Lance Knox for the Snitch. Knox didn't look all too pleasant, so Scorpius hoped that Albus would be able to knock him out quickly. Albus caught his eye and Scorpius gave him a thumbs-up.

"Alright, ready?" Oaks glanced to the people first in line; Annabel Croft and Tyler. Oaks wound up his arm to throw the Snitch. "Three... two... one... go!" The Snitch spun out of his hand and Annabel shot after it. Tyler was slowly making his way behind her; his broom was one of the school's ancient Shooting Stars, so it was incredibly slow. Scorpius felt a Bludger whiz by him as James aimed it at Annabel, who was closing in on the Snitch; Fred let out an indignant yell as it almost hit her face. Scorpius flew forward and weaved around the fourth-year, distracting her. After much struggling, she managed to grip the Snitch in between her fingers and descended to the ground. Tyler was eliminated.

Albus and Knox were next. "Three... two... one!" The Snitch flew forward and Albus was immediately on its trail, Knox hot behind him. Two Bludgers flew by Scorpius as he circled around the two grappling boys; Knox tried to grip Albus's broom and pull him backwards, but Scorpius 'accidentally' kicked him in the face and the sixth-year went spiraling downward. Ignoring this sudden distraction, Albus was able to close his hand around the Snitch and shoot to the ground, grinning wildly. To Scorpius's delight, he heard Spikes remark to Oaks, 'he's excellent!'. Knox made a very inappropriate hand gesture to Scorpius as he stalked off the pitch; James and Fred high-fived Scorpius and they all snickered at the stringy sixth-year.

Finally, Au Longbottom and Jacob Gladstone were up. This was a long struggle; Jacob and Au fought for over three minutes before Au shoved Jacob away and snatched the Snitch from him. Jacob spat on the ground as he angrily left the pitch, cursing the ground and launching his broom in the air. 'Good thing we got rid of a great sport like that' Scorpius heard Jane Thomas mutter to Spikes, who nodded in agreement.

"It's only the three of you left," Scorpius heard Oaks yell over the harsh wind that was beginning to pick up, "So we're going to throw the Snitch in the air and see which out of the three of you can get it. There will be all of the distractions that you encountered last time, plus Jane Thomas and Spikes flying around you. Are you all ready for that?" Au, Annabel and Albus nodded, determined. Scorpius grinned at Albus, who looked a bit apprehensive. "Okay, line up in front of me, please. And only take off when I say 'go'!"

They all lined up in front of Oaks, their eyes squinting forward as they waited for Oaks's instructions. Jane and Spikes flew up next to Scorpius, ready to distract the three prospect Seekers. "You know, James's brother is really talented," Jane remarked to Scorpius as Oaks gave the three prospect Seekers a pep talk, "What if we have two first-years on the team? That's got to be some record!"

"Three... two... one...!" Oaks's voice began to boom, echoing off of the stands. For the first time, Scorpius noticed that the stands were almost full; many people, even from other Houses, had come to see the Gryffindor Seeker tryouts. Scorpius spotted a familiar mane of bushy-red-hair in the stands and waved; Rose Weasley returned his wave and frantically pointed down to the drill. _Crap!_ Scorpius thought; the final drill had begun.

The three prospects had zoomed forward, all in pursuit of the Snitch. Scorpius, Spikes and Jane Thomas all weaved in between them, causing Annabel to spin off of her broom and fall to the ground. 'No!' Scorpius heard Fred mutter angrily when she didn't get up, but James hissed something to his cousin and they began to hit Bludgers towards the two remaining Seekers.

Albus's broom easily outstripped Au's Cleansweep. His eyes were focused on only the Snitch; Scorpius realized that everything around his friend seemed to be a blur. There was nothing distracting Albus in the young Potter's mind; Albus easily barrel-rolled the Gryffindor Quidditch team and sped after the Snitch, leaning forward to extend his arm. There was a collective gasp around the stadium as Albus grabbed the Snitch with a small, pale hand. The Potter boy descended to the ground and opened his hand to look at the Snitch; his mouth was slightly open, in a gasp. "I - I got it!" he whispered, surprised.

"Al!" Scorpius whooped, zooming to the ground on his broom and running over to congratulate his friend. "You did it, Al, you got the Snitch!" There were thumps behind Scorpius as James and Fred closed in on Albus, each of them bear-hugging him; it was almost as if Albus had just won Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup. James ruffled Albus's hair and grinned. "Welcome, brother!"

"Hold on!" Oaks yelled, stomping from where Annabel was beginning to recover. Au Longbottom simply shrugged and walked off of the field. "Hold - _on_ - Jane, Jane Thomas, where are you? Spikes? Sam Spikes?" They both appeared from behind Albus Potter; they had been congratulating him. "Do - you - _really _- think we can put another _first-year_ on this team? People are going to think we're weak!"

"I was a little uneasy about it," Sam Spikes admitted, glancing uncertainly at Albus, who was looking a tad bit defiant. "But you can't ignore the facts, Tiger. This kid completely outflew everyone in the tryout today; he's small, he's thin, and he's really tough. I saw his face when I was flying next to him; he was completely focused on the Snitch the entire time. He didn't even glance at the Bludgers or Jane, Scorpius and I flying around him. You _know_ he's good, Oaks."

Oaks looked torn. "Fine," he spat. "Fine. We'll put another _eleven-year-old_ on our Quidditch team. Fine. But you have to be tough - kid - " He pointed a finger at Albus, and then Scorpius. " - and you too, Scorpius. Slytherin's mean and dirty; they'll make all sorts of jokes about the fact that we put two _first-years _on this freaking _team_. You have to be _tough _- alright?" Spit was beginning to bubble at Oaks's mouth; he looked like he was going mad. "_Tough... _yeah..." With that, he stalked away from the pitch, swaying.

"Ah, you've gotta forgive him, guys," Jane glanced awkwardly at Scorpius and Albus. "It is a little weird to have two first-years on the team, and Oaks is just really going through a tough time right now. His best friend is in St. Mungo's, his N.E.W.T.s aren't going too great, and his father's just landed the family in a sea of debt and is serving lots of time in Azkaban." The whole team looked shocked; Scorpius felt awful, he had always thought that Oaks was going mad because of Spence being away. "Yeah, it's hard. Just... listen to what he said. Be careful. Slytherin will want to win next week, and we all know that Slytherin will do whatever it takes to achieve their ends."

* * *

Some foreshadowing... thanks for the encouragement & reviews, I really love you guys for reading! x Remember to keep reviewing of course hehe xx


	17. S I X T E E N

**Chapter Sixteen: The Serpent**

Even though Oaks's mind had been warped by his recent tragedies when he was yelling at Albus and Scorpius, his predictions were very accurate. The next few days leading up to the Slytherin versus Gryffindor match, the Slytherins had been increasingly hostile and nasty to the Gryffindor Quidditch team, especially Albus and Scorpius. Even if Scorpius surrounded himself with a pack of Gryffindors, a group of Slytherins would always manage to sneak in and push Scorpius to the ground, muttering things like 'blood-traitor', 'disgrace to purebloods' and 'go back to your crib, first-year'.

Whenever anyone on the team saw the Slytherins bullying Albus and Scorpius, they wouldn't hesitate to hex the Slytherins (especially James and Fred, who cursed a Slytherin fifth-year so badly that he looked like a squirrel for three days). Even the other Houses were supporting the match; Hufflepuff was still upset because they had lost to Gryffindor, and thus, sided with Slytherin, while the Ravenclaws wanted Gryffindor to win because they were confident that they would be able to beat Gryffindor in the Championship Game. All in all, Scorpius was having one of the toughest weeks of his life.

"Just ignore them," Rose said desperately, pushing Scorpius's hand down as he began drew his wand to hex a Slytherin that had just slammed him into a wall, "They're looking for a reaction, Scorpius. They want to land you all in detention so that you won't be able to play - " Scorpius started to raise his wand as another Slytherin menacingly approached him, but Rose shielded him from casting the curse. "Come _on_, Scorpius, don't sink down to their level - "

" - that's right," a lower, more authoritative voice murmured from behind them. Scorpius and Rose spun around to see that Professor Longbottom was towering over them. He was proudly wearing his Gryffindor badge in support of the team, and his eyebrows were slightly raised. "Us Gryffindors have a reputation of class to upkeep, Mr. Malfoy. If any Slytherins are attempting to hurt you, you're supposed to tell me and I'll deal with it."

"Professor Longbottom, sir, I don't mean to be rude but tattling on you will only make the matter worse," Scorpius said bitterly. "And plus, I get attacked every time I step foot out into the corridors, so you'll have to either be my bodyguard or expel the entire Slytherin House if you want the bullying to stop - " Scorpius glanced around the Charms corridor he and Rose were in and saw that no Slytherins were around; Scorpius let out a sigh of relief. If any Slytherin had caught him tattling on them to a teacher, the 'baby Scorpius boo hoo' jokes would intensify tenfold.

"Ah, I remember what it was like to be bullied and tortured at Hogwarts," Professor Longbottom grinned almost nostalgically. "Of course, Mr. Malfoy, it was usually your father and his cronies pushing me around, but we learned to be civil... after a bit..." Professor Longbottom shrugged, his eyes still light-hearted. "Anyway, I wanted to wish you luck tomorrow, Scorpius. Gryffindor _really _needs to win this time; we haven't beaten Slytherin in seven years, and quite frankly, I'm sick of Professor Black bragging about it all the time."

"Thanks, Professor Longbottom," Scorpius smiled; this smile was almost forced because he hadn't forgotten Professor Longbottom's previously reserved attitude towards him. Also, Scorpius still felt a little uneasy whenever Professor Longbottom mentioned Draco teasing him. "Uh - yeah, I don't really want my dad bragging all summer about how Slytherin beat me, either."

Professor Longbottom smiled a tight smile; clearly, he was revisiting all of the times Draco Malfoy had tortured him. "See you tomorrow," he said cheerfully, turning away from Scorpius and Rose as he walked down the empty corridor. Rose glanced at Scorpius uneasily, but Scorpius shrugged in dismissal. He knew what she was thinking; she was contemplating Professor Longbottom and Scorpius's strange relationship.

"Hey, shrimp," Scorpius heard thumping footsteps from behind him, and the next thing he knew, he was suspended in the air by his ankles. Caspian Goyle was pointing his wand at Scorpius; behind him, Damien Macnair was threateningly drawing his wand at Rose's throat. Scorpius tried to struggle and hissed curses at Macnair, but the two Slytherins just guffawed.

"I know what you did," snarled Goyle, his piggy features contorted in a grotesque expression of rage, "I know it was you that night. You better watch your back, Scorpius Malfoy. You may be a pureblood, but you're just as filthy as your half-Mudblood, half-blood-traitor _girlfriend_ in my eyes." Goyle waved his wand and Scorpius fell with a sickening 'thud!' to the ground. Goyle spat on him while Macnair gave him a kick to the shoulder. Snickers floated from the corridor as Goyle and Macnair strode away, howling with laughter.

"Scorpius!" Rose ran over to her friend. Scorpius pushed himself off of the ground and rubbed his throbbing head. He felt a large bump forming on his forehead and grunted with rage. Rose knelt beside him, a worried expression on her face. "Scorpius, are you okay? You don't need to go to the Hospital Wing or anything, do you?"

"I'm fine," Scorpius said shortly. He felt rage boiling up in his stomach; how dare Goyle and Macnair corner him in the corridor like that? Scorpius was thankful that no one else was there to witness what had just happened, but anger covered up his relieved emotion. _It's just a Quidditch game, _He thought, confused, as Rose helped him get up. Scorpius swayed, but pretended like nothing was wrong as he walked back to the Common Room with Rose. _But it's almost like they wanted to kill me..._

* * *

It was nighttime. Scorpius glanced wearily out the window as the moonlight shone into his room. He closed his eyes momentarily, exhausted from that day's drama, but was woken up by the whoops of his dorm-mates. Scorpius blinked open a tired eye to see Everett Bradley, Flynn Finnegan and Harrison O'Hare doing some sort of chant about Gryffindor.

"They might be first-years, but they've got no fears - " yelled Everett, sticking up his wand and puffing out his chest in an almost-Medieval-knightly fashion. His light brown hair was messy from the maroon-and-gold tie wrapped around it; he caught Scorpius's eye and grinned at him, his brown eyes wide. "Scorpius might be a pureblood, but he's sure as hell not a dud - "

Scorpius smiled and pulled himself out of bed to join in on the celebrations. "That's the best rhyme you can come up with?" challenged Scorpius, his tone lighthearted as he grinned at a dancing Everett. "'Pureblood' and 'dud'?"

"You can't come up with something better, Scorpius!" Harrison was prancing around the dorm, his wand waving as he drew a Gryffindor lion on the huge banner he had brought in. His blue eyes were light and his freckled dotted across his face as he skipped across the room to some unknown song playing in his head. "Ready? Hear this: Scorpius is blonde, and he's got a wand, he's in Gryffindor and he really likes to snore - "

"That's the worst rhyme I've _ever_ heard," snorted Flynn Finnegan from his bed. He emerged from under the maroon curtains, his tie looped around his head in the same fashion that Everett was wearing his. His blue eyes glimmered as he teased his friend. "That's not even a song, Harrison, that's more like one of those rap things - "

" - Ohh, like they play on the radio?" Everett was twirling his wand around now, his chest still puffed out. Golden and red sparks were exploding out of the Muggle-born's wand, creating a beautiful shower of Gryffindor-colored sparkles. "You know, those American raps that you always hear?"

"Oh, yeah!" Harrison O'Hare, the other Muggle-born in the room, grinned widely. Scorpius and Flynn Finnegan shared a confused glance; what was this American music that Harrison and Everett were talking about? Everett noticed Flynn and Scorpius's puzzled expressions and shrugged. By now, the young Gryffindor was used to his friends not understanding Muggle concepts.

"American Muggles sing these kind of raps on the radio, like what Harrison was singing," Everett grinned; he looked happy to know about something that Scorpius and Flynn didn't for once (Albus, Scorpius and Flynn were always having to explain wizarding concepts to Everett and Harrison, who were completely clueless). "They usually rhyme, but they're not as ridiculous as the rhymes Harrison was spinning."

"Ah, I understand," Flynn Finnegan said, ruffling his messy-golden-blonde hair. Scorpius had always secretly wished for the color blonde hair that Flynn had; Scorpius's was a whitish, bleach-blonde that he desperately wished had some sort of life in it. He hated looking like an old man all the time. Flynn shot a blue-eyed stare at Scorpius. "Hey, where's Al?"

"I've got no idea," admitted Scorpius, for the first time noticing his friend's absence. Earlier, Albus had been studying with Rose in the Common Room. This was unusual for Albus because the Potter boy usually didn't study often, but Rose was trying to get Albus's mind off of the big game tomorrow so she offered to help him with his homework (a complete rarity). "I saw him in the Common Room earlier, but he should've be up by now."

"Yeah," shrugged Harrison, continuing to doodle a very realistic looking lion on the banner. On the left of the lion was a thin, blonde-haired boy with a Quaffle. To the right, Harrison had drawn a small, messy black-haired boy with bright green eyes. Harrison had managed to get the drawings to move; Scorpius's figure was tossing the Quaffle around, while Albus was releasing the Snitch with his hands and nabbing it before it got too far away. "Too bad, he could've joined in the celebrations."

Everett's eyes danced over to Scorpius. "It's going to be so cool if you whoop Slytherin's slimy butts tomorrow," he whispered, his brown eyes narrowed in mischief. "I've been sticking up for you against that awful gorilla-girl Wren Dolohov for the past week. She's my partner in Potions. Apparently, they were planning to corner you before the game - "

" - Yeah, already happened," Scorpius muttered bitterly. "Rose and I were walking to the Common Room to go to break before dinner and a fifth-year named Goyle and that first-year prat Macnair snuck up behind us and flung me to the ground. He told me to watch my back, but so has every other Slytherin at his school." Scorpius scrunched his nose, feeling sour.

"Use that as motivation!" Flynn Finnegan said confidently, brandishing a wand bravely at Scorpius. "Tomorrow, just imagine all of the looks on their faces once we've won! At least the rest of the school acknowledges that Gryffindors have class while the Slytherins try to intimidate people by shoving first-years around in hallways." Flynn curled his lip, disgusted.

"Finished it!" Harrison crowed from the other side of the room. He held up his banner, grinning in pride and happiness. Scorpius was very impressed with Harrison's art skills; the Muggle-born had managed to draw a towering, shadowed lion that roared over the figures of Scorpius and Albus. Harrison had tweaked the drawing a little so that Scorpius was winding around the lion and scoring with the Quaffle, while Albus was still snatching the Snitch as he let it go with his hands.

Scorpius walked over to the banner, smiling widely at his friend. "It looks great, Harrison!" The other two boys ran up beside Scorpius, laughing at the bleach-blonde figure of Scorpius twirling around on his broom and commending Harrison's excellent drawing skills. As their conversation started to drift towards Quidditch again, the door flung open and Albus crashed in, panting.

"Left - my - wand - in - the Great Hall," he gasped, clutching his chest. The young boy looked as if he had sprinted up the entire dorm-hall stairs in an effort to reach the first-year's dorm (their dormitory was inconveniently located all the way on the top of the Tower). "Will - anyone - come with me?" The room was silent. Albus added a hopeful, "please?"

"I'll go," Scorpius stepped forward, pocketing his wand as he strode over to his best friend.

Albus glanced at him gratefully and waved to the rest of the room. "Ah, it's about eight o'clock, right, Flynn?"

The clock was closest to Flynn's bed. The blonde-haired boy hopped over to his four-poster bed and craned his neck to see the time. Turning back to the others, he gave Albus a nod. "Almost eight o'clock," he confirmed, narrowing his eyes as he looked concerned. "Aren't we supposed to be out of the corridors by eight thirty? D'you think you'll make it back in time?"

"Yeah," Everett agreed, his light brown hair spiked up slightly. His brown eyes were wide; he looked strangely worried. This was weird because Everett was usually very confident. "But wait - what if the Slytherins are lurking out in the corridors? Maybe they'll try to ambush you guys or something." He exchanged a scared glance with Harrison, who shrugged, looking uncertain.

"Nah," Albus shook his head, dismissing the idea. "What sort of no-life Slytherin would be lurking around the halls at night? There's a slim chance that Scorpius and I would be out this late anyway; after all, we're going to be late for the curfew." Albus glanced at the clock, then at Scorpius. "You ready, Scorpius? We have to go now, or else we'll be in _real _trouble if someone catches us in the corridors!"

"Yeah," said Scorpius, waving good-bye to his dorm-mates as he departed the dormitory with Albus. They both shuffled down the stairs quickly and arrived into the Common Room. Rose was poring over a Herbology book; unlike Scorpius, she hadn't finished the essay that was due in three days. She sensed her best friends' presence and glanced up from her book. When she saw that they were about to leave the portrait hole, she narrowed her eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" she challenged, standing up from her seat and striding over to them. Scorpius glanced around the Common Room; the other students were talking animatedly in large groups, so no one was really paying attention to Rose's confrontation. Scorpius glanced at Albus; Albus raised his eyebrows as if to say '_You deal with this one_'.

"Albus left his wand in the Great Hall," Scorpius said truthfully, his gaze trained on Rose's blue eyes. After Scorpius spoke, she rolled her eyes and looked frustrated.

"It's almost curfew," she warned, glancing up at the large clock above the staircase to the dormitories. "You're going to get caught, and you might get a Saturday detention. How's your team going to feel if their Chaser and their Seeker is out for the biggest game of the season?"

"They're not going to feel anything, because we won't be caught," replied Scorpius stubbornly. "Now if you'll excuse us, you're holding us up. Unless you'd like to join?"

"No," Rose looked offended that Scorpius had offered to include her. She added haughtily, "_I'm _going to stay here and finish my Herbology essay, which you both should be doing."

Albus rolled his eyes and turned away to the portrait hole. Scorpius followed him and glanced behind his shoulder to see Rose stalking away towards her table. "I've already finished, Rose!" he called cockily as he began to leave the Common Room. At Rose's indignant and angry stare, he shot her an arrogant wink. _Sometimes Rose thinks she's the only studious one around here. _Scorpius thought with a chuckle as he exited the Common Room.

* * *

Albus glanced at the clock in the Entrance Hall. He had found his wand by the Gryffindor table; now, it was clutched in his pale hand. The Potter boy glanced at Scorpius, his expression a bit apprehensive. "Almost eight thirty," he whispered, biting his lip in fear. Albus and Scorpius had taken awhile to reach the Entrance Hall because they had run down a strange corridor that Albus claimed was a 'shortcut'. It had actually taken them ten minutes longer than it would've to take the normal route because they had gotten lost in the middle of the weird corridor.

Scorpius looked down, gripping his wand. "Okay," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. His worst fear was being found by a teacher and getting a Saturday detention; he _couldn't _miss the Quidditch game tomorrow. His father was coming, after all, so Scorpius had to get back to the Common Room quickly and get a good night's sleep. "Okay. That's fine. We'll just take the normal route and hopefully we'll get there on time."

Albus looked uncertain, but after a moment he nodded. "Alright," he said, turning to run up the stairs by the Entrance Hall. "Come on! Let's just get back as quickly as possible. If a teacher sees us, we'll just tell them the truth. It's an honest mistake, leaving my wand in the Great Hall, right - ?" His green eyes grew wide as he looked over Scorpius's shoulder. He opened his mouth and closed it; he looked like some deranged fish. "Sc... Scorpius, look out!"

Scorpius whirled around and opened his mouth to yell; but before he could, a hand closed around his mouth and someone kneed him in his stomach. His eyes watering in pain, Scorpius keeled over and heard Albus thump down the stairs, yelling curses at the figure who had attacked Scorpius. There was a rushing noise and Scorpius heard a thump and a groan from Albus; it sounded as if Albus had just been attacked, too.

Scorpius rolled over and saw the cloaked figure that had kneed him standing over him, grinning. The Malfoy glanced over to his side and saw that Albus was being throttled by another cloaked figure. The cloaked figure strangling Albus's hood fell off: Rowle. "We meet again, _Malfoy_," the cloaked figure standing over Scorpius spat, his brown eyes glinting menacingly. Scorpius recognized the deep, slow drawl: Macnair!

"What are you doing down here, Macnair?" snarled Scorpius, attempting to reach for his wand in his pocket. Macnair stomped on Scorpius's hand and Scorpius whelped in pain. Even though he was in incredible pain, Scorpius saw the shadow of guilt flit across Macnair's face before he sneered at Scorpius, ripping off his hood. The familiar, well-groomed face loomed over Scorpius, his face a mask of anger.

"What's it matter to you?" Macnair growled.

"You've got nothing better to do than ambush a bunch of your classmates?" Scorpius shot at him. "You're pathetic."

"I didn't expect to see you down here, _actually_," flashed Macnair. Scorpius could see the guilt and fear flickering in his rival's eyes; Macnair had definitely been up to something, and he was terrified that Scorpius would figure out what he had been up to. "We were in this Entrance Hall the whole time, but you and the dumb, famous _Potter _boy were too daft to notice, as usual."

"Yeah?" challenged Scorpius, beginning to sit up. Macnair's foot crashed into Scorpius's chest and Scorpius fell backwards, breathing heavily as he fought to catch his breath. When he had recovered, Scorpius snarled at Macnair and continued. "What were you doing down here, then? Admiring the castle with your friend? You're not batting for the other team, are you?"

"If anyone was _batting for the other team_, it'd be you and your pal Potter," snorted Macnair. To Scorpius's satisfaction, Macnair seemed to be getting increasingly angrier the more Scorpius taunted him. "I'm not going on a midnight stroll with Rowle, you useless idiot. But now that you've wandered into my hands, I'm going to make you pay for everything you've done to me these past few months."

"Wow," Scorpius rolled his eyes, laughing at Macnair. "I'm _so _scared of a shrimpy first-year like you, Macnair - "

"I'm bigger than you, Malfoy!" Macnair flared up, baring his teeth at Scorpius. He looked like a silly dog that was trying to pick a fight. "And I'm stronger, too; look how I just beat you and your scrawny friend to the ground - "

"Yeah," Scorpius continued to brawl with his rival, grinning as Macnair's expression grew more and more unhinged. "Maybe because you snuck up on us like a coward in the shadows. You want to know who's stronger, Macnair? Maybe we can have a real fight: just you and me. We're only first-years so we don't know any spells; are you too high up and mighty to reject a good old Muggle brawl?"

"Without wands?" Macnair sneered. "I could pummel you, Malfoy. I'm taller, I'm stronger, I'm - "

"Is that a challenge?" Scorpius smiled.

"Scorpius, no!" Albus yelled, but Rowle kneed him in the stomach and he shut up.

"Yeah!" Macnair hissed, glaring at Scorpius. Scorpius had secretly hoped that a teacher would find them by now; was he really going to have to fight Macnair? His rival was right: Macnair absolutely towered over Scorpius with his muscular stature and powerful-looking figure. Scorpius stood up, gulping; his thin, athletic frame was nothing against Macnair's looming persona. Scorpius would have to rely on his speed and nimbleness if he wanted to live through this fight.

He raised his arms in a fighting position, frowning at Macnair in an attempt to show he wasn't afraid. Macnair grinned and stood there, waiting for Scorpius to make the first move. Scorpius closed his eyes and sighed; he had to do this. He had to create enough ruckus so a teacher would come to his and Albus's rescue. Swallowing in fear, Scorpius jumped forward and jabbed Macnair hard in the stomach. His fist literally bounced off of Macnair's abs as Macnair twisted Scorpius's elbow and threw him to the ground.

Glancing back in fear, Scorpius saw Macnair lunging for him and swiftly dodged out of the way. Macnair's fist hit the cold, stone floor and the huge first-year howled in pain. Grinning in delight, Scorpius jumped to his rival and kicked him across the face. Macnair moved his head away at the last second, but Scorpius managed to clip Macnair's nose. There was a cheer from Albus, and Scorpius glanced over at his friend for a second to see him be punched in the ear by Rowle. This moment of distraction allowed Macnair to toss Scorpius to the floor.

Scorpius hit the ground with a sickening thud; his head ached. Scorpius felt his face being pummeled by Macnair's humongous fists. He tried to fight back, but Macnair was too big; he simply pushed Scorpius to the ground and began to kick him. Scorpius felt numb; he knew that he was about to wipe out. Scorpius opened his eye one last time to see blue and purple flashes of light by the stairs; what was going on? Had Macnair pulled out his wand?

Scorpius never found out; before he knew it, darkness completely engulfed him as he drifted off into nothingness.

* * *

"Scorpius! Please get up; it's time for the game, come on!"

Scorpius blearily opened his eyes to see eight worried figures crowded around him. He was in his dorm-room in Gryffindor Tower; how had he gotten there? As his eyes started to focus, he began to pick out the individual characteristics of the blurry people crowding around him. Albus was the one who had spoken; he was clad in his Gryffindor Quidditch robes and had an extremely concerned expression on his face. Next to him stood Oaks, James and Fred, each sharing expressions similar to Albus's and dressed in their Quidditch robes. Rose, Everett Bradley, Harrison O'Hare and Flynn Finnegan were to Scorpius's right; they were all dressed in their pajamas. Judging from the light, it was morning time.

"How - did I get here?" Scorpius asked wearily, sitting up in his bed and looking wildly around. "Wha - did I miss the game?"

"No time for questions!" James literally pulled Scorpius out of the bed and the blonde Malfoy landed with a thud on the cold, stone floor. 'Careful!' Scorpius heard Rose yell, but James ignored her. He hauled Scorpius off of the ground and pushed him towards his trunk. "Dressed, now!" James ordered, pointing to the trunk. "You're going to be late for the biggest game of the season! And your dad's here, too; I saw him at breakfast."

"We brought you some toast," Flynn said kindly, holding out three pieces of bread with jelly and butter. "But, ah, just focus on getting dressed first, alright?"

"Rose is here - " Scorpius sputtered, pointing at the one female in the room. "How's she get - "

"No time for questions!" James threw Scorpius's Quidditch robes at him. "Who cares if she's here? She's sure as hell not looking at you, just _get in your Quidditch robes before we miss the bloody game!_"

"Alright!" gasped Scorpius, quickly changing out of his pajamas and into his Quidditch robes. His head, chest and legs ached from the fight he had with Macnair the previous night. Even though he was in an extreme hurry, Scorpius still couldn't help wondering _how _he and Albus had gotten out alive last night. Who had saved him from Rowle and Macnair? If it was a teacher, Scorpius would have definitely woken up in the Hospital Wing. Was it a prefect?

"Let's _go!_" bellowed Oaks after Scorpius was changed into his Quidditch robes. Rose, Flynn, Everett and Harrison all wished Albus, James, Fred, Scorpius and Oaks luck as Oaks flung Scorpius onto his back and ran out of the room. After they had descended the stairs, Oaks threw Scorpius off of his back and Scorpius sprinted out of the castle following the others. They tore down the corridors, at times surprising students and causing them to drop their books. After a few minutes, they ran out of the Entrance Hall and into the grounds.

In the brief moment they were in the Entrance Hall, Scorpius couldn't help but glancing around to see if there were any signs of a disturbance. There was nothing; the Hall looked the same as it did everyday. Frowning in confusion, Scorpius sprinted after his friends as they made their way to the Quidditch pitch.

Scorpius felt a fearful pang in his stomach when he saw the mass of Gryffindor and Slytherin supporters walking down to the pitch. The Gryffindor Quidditch team weaved in between them; more than once, Scorpius felt a tug on his robes when a Slytherin tried to hold him back. Scorpius responded by slapping the hand on his robes and catching up to his friends.

Finally, they reached the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius was completely out of breath when he reached the changing rooms. Spikes and Jane Thomas were waiting for them, pacing. When Jane realized that the rest of the team was here, she immediately flared up at Oaks. "Where were you?" she hissed. "The game's in a little more than five minutes and we need to talk strategy!"

"You're lucky I arrived with Scorpius, here!" Oaks pointed at a panting Scorpius, who was jogging over to his cubby to grab his Firebolt V. "I was right all along! He was cornered by a bunch of Slytherins last night and he was completely knocked out. _I _was the one that had to run all the way up to his bloody dorm and convince the other idiots to not send him to the Hospital Wing."

"Well, is he alright?" Spikes asked apprehensively, glancing at a slightly swaying Scorpius. "He looks like he's been beat up pretty badly."

"He tried to fight the Macnair kid," Albus defended his friend. Scorpius sat down, clutching his stomach. He was so hungry, it ached. Albus seemed to get the sign; he muttered an appalled 'oh!' and rushed over to Scorpius with Flynn's pile of toast. Scorpius gave him a grateful glance and wolfed down the toast. He closed his eyes; even the aching on his head seemed to calm down now that he had eaten some food.

"Okay," Oaks said, looking at Scorpius. It was obvious that Scorpius was recovering. "Alright. Now, we have to talk strategy for the two seconds that we have. Albus," he glanced at the nervous-looking Seeker. Scorpius guessed that Albus would have been much more concerned about the game, but his friend's energy had been focused on him. "Get the Snitch right away. The moment you see it, grab it. Unless we're losing by one-hundred-fifty... then, we'll try to catch up while you distract Ted Nott from finding the Snitch. He's the best Seeker in Hogwarts, so don't be fooled by his idiocy."

Oaks glanced at Spikes. "Slytherin has poor aim; we both know that. They're going to try and aim Bludgers at you from the start. Be aware," His gaze flitted to James and Fred. "You two. Slytherin is going to aim for three people: Scorpius, because he's a filthy blood-traitor in their opinion, Albus, because he's Potter's son, and Spikes, because we all know Slytherin likes to get rid of the other team's Keeper. I wouldn't put it past Slytherin to try and knock out you two, either. You're both related to the Potters and a spawn of the Weasleys, the family who most of the Slytherins despise. Be on the lookout for everyone." They nodded, narrowing their eyes in determination.

"Jane and Scorpius," Oaks nodded to his fellow Chasers. "Slytherin's Chasers play rough, just like the rest of the team. They're not afraid to push and shove. They'll knock you off of your broom without blinking. We have to be on our best dodging game today. The Slytherins might be rough, but their Chasers are quite daft and slow on the uptake. Dodge, dodge, dodge. That's how we're going to win." Scorpius closed his eyes, sighing. He _wasn't _going to show Macnair that he had won today. And he was going to show his father just how much being a Gryffindor meant to him.

"That's all we have time for," Oaks muttered nervously as the horn sounded from outside the changing rooms. "Alright, guys. Let's go. It's the biggest game of the season; trust your teammates, and let's show the rest of the school that we didn't get lucky when we beat Hufflepuff. Gryffindor on three. Ready? One... two... three..."

"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the team, sprinting out of the changing rooms and onto the pitch.

* * *

Thanks soso much for your support & for taking the time to read this story! xx


	18. S E V E N T E E N

**Chapter Seventeen: The Eagle**

The roar of the audience was deafening. Scorpius strutted onto the pitch next to Albus; they were last in line behind Oaks, Jane Thomas and Spikes, and finally, Fred and James. Scorpius saw Albus glance around the stands in awe. It was much different being in the humongous audience than it was to play in the game the crowd was there to cheer for. Scorpius couldn't help but let his eyes wander up to the teacher's box; in it, he saw a familiar neatly-groomed, bleach-blonde head of hair. Draco's head peeked out of the shadows and he waved to Scorpius, grinning. Scorpius waved happily back.

A gust of cold, February wind whistled through the stadium as the Slytherin team strode out of their changing rooms. They were in robes of a hunter green trimmed with silver. Their faces were completely expressionless; Scorpius couldn't help but noticing that there was not a single girl on the team. The Slytherins either looked like gorillas or like stringy, cunning boys. Scorpius gulped; this would definitely be a hard match.

"Ready?" Scorpius whispered to Albus as Tiger Oaks and Ted Nott, the Gryffindor and Slytherin Captains respectively, shook hands. Albus looked at the ground for a moment and back at Scorpius; Al looked utterly terrified.

"I - I don't know if I can do this," Albus whispered hurriedly to Scorpius; Madame Hooch was beginning to explain the rules and soon, they would have to line up in their positions. "What if I lose the game, Scorpius?" His eyes trailed around the roaring crowd; the Potter boy scrunched up his nose and looked uncertain. His voice grew quiet as he murmured, "What if I'm not as good as my dad?"

"You're not your dad, Al," Scorpius hissed to his best friend. "You might look like him, but you're not him. I'm nothing like my dad and I look just like him. Who cares if you're not as good at Quidditch as your dad, or if you're not as brave, or if you don't kill Voldemort when you're seventeen? You have your own strengths and weaknesses. And if there's one thing you're better than your dad at, it's Quidditch." Oaks was beginning to take his place at the Chaser position and Scorpius began to walk away to line up next to Oaks. Albus was still looking concerned. "I know you can win!" Scorpius called, giving his friend a thumbs-up as he took his place to the left of Oaks.

"And the Gryffindor team lines up!" announced Louis Weasley from the commentator's box, "They look absolutely _dashing _in their maroon and gold uniforms on this cold, February Saturday! The Slytherins are taking their positions next to the Gryffindors... I have to say, I'm not a fan of the whole hunter-green look they have going on there. I liked the forest green ones better - ahem, uh, sorry Professor Winston - anyway, Madame Hooch is about to throw up the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the Snitch..."

Scorpius glanced to his right. Albus was mounting his broom next to a big, brown-haired boy. Scorpius guessed this was Roger Peters by his huge, gorilla-like appearance and malicious-looking expression. Scorpius's best friend looked a bit nervous but determined. Madame Hooch was in the middle, still explaining the rules to an annoyed Ted Nott.

"... ah, yes, the Gryffindor team _has _in fact added a new member to their squad. Peter Spence has most _unfortunately_ - " Louis shot a wink at a grinning James and Fred, " - caught the craziest flu that anyone's ever heard of! Apparently, St. Mungo's hasn't even found the cure. Let's hope Mr. Spence recovers. Anyway, young Albus Potter, son of Harry Potter and brother to James Potter and cousin to me, Fred Weasley, Victoire Weasley, Dominique Weasley - haha, only kidding Professor, I wasn't about to say all of our names! - anyway, he's apparently an excellent Seeker. Will he be better than his father? You will all find out in this match - "

That was the wrong thing to say. Scorpius saw Albus look very queasy.

" - okay! And now Madame Hooch has finally finished explaining all of the new rules and regulations to the Captains. The Quaffle will be released in three... two... one... GO! Go Gryffindor! - Ah, and Slytherin! Yeah!"

The scarlet Quaffle spun into the air and Scorpius flew towards it. His Firebolt V automatically gave him an immense advantage; for the first time in his life, he was the first person to grab the Quaffle in a Quidditch match. There were 'ooo's and 'ahh's from the crowd as Scorpius sped down the field, his Firebolt V outstripping everyone. Scorpius didn't even need to dodge; his Firebolt automatically did whatever Scorpius's brain wished it to. _Dodge the Keeper! _Scorpius thought. The Firebolt V barrel-rolled the Keeper and Scorpius had a clear shot to goal. He aimed at the center hoop and the Quaffle spun through it. There was a 'ding!' from the scoreboard and a humongous explosion of noise erupted from the Gryffindor section.

"And Scorpius Malfoy has scored the first goal!" whooped Louis Weasley. "Did you see that broomstick he was riding, ladies and gentlemen? That's nothing other than the Firebolt V, the broomstick that hasn't even come out yet! Scorpius is the first to get it, and it's completely revolutionary. Did you people _see _how he just flew by everyone in sight? Even the Firebolt IV couldn't - "

" - _Weasley, are you commentating a match or advertising a broomstick?!_" bellowed Professor Winston from his right side.

Louis grinned and winked at the stern Professor. "Only giving background information, sir!" he smiled. Scorpius felt the entire stadium watching him now; as he flew back to the center of the field, there were screams of awe and gasps of excitement as the audience caught a glimpse of the Firebolt V. Scorpius looked up at the teacher's section and saw his father smiling at him. Scorpius waved happily and grinned.

"Ten - zero to Gryffindor!" Louis continued as the Gryffindor team closed in on Scorpius and hugged him in delight. Albus gave Scorpius a thumbs-up from above the stands; he was still searching for the Snitch. Scorpius and the rest of the team proceeded to line up. Scorpius noticed Ted Nott flying down to speak to the three Slytherin Chasers; Mattox Flint, Roger Peters and Pierce Travers. They all glared at Scorpius and nodded grimly to Nott. _That can't be good... _Scorpius thought as Madame Hooch tossed up the Quaffle._  
_

Again, Scorpius was the first one to the Quaffle. He easily nicked it out of the air and sped towards the Slytherin goalposts. He looked around him and saw that none of his teammates had caught up to him yet, so there was no option for him to pass to. With a glance behind him, Scorpius saw a mass of green and maroon flying in his direction. They weren't anywhere near him, though. It hardly took any effort to dodge the Slytherin Keeper, Harte Lloyd. Scorpius did a barrel-roll in an arrogant manner as he threw the ball through the right hoop. 'Ding!'. It was now twenty to zero. It took a few moments for the Gryffindors to catch up to Scorpius and clap his back in triumph.

The next time, when Scorpius grabbed the ball, he was almost attacked by all three Slytherin Chasers. Thankfully, his broom gave him an incredible advantage and Scorpius was easily able to score one, two, three, four, five, six more times. The Gryffindor crowd was going wild. "_SCOR - PI - US! SCOR - PI - US!_" They chanted, much to the Slytherins' distaste.

"He's using an illegal broom!" Roger Peters hissed to Madame Hooch as the score climbed to eighty-zero. "He should be disqualified!"

"It's not illegal," Madame Hooch pointed out. "I know the Firebolt creator very well, Mr. Peters. He informed me of this broom awhile ago, so I see no reason why I should disqualify Mr. Malfoy from the game."

"You're only winning because of a rich, spoiled first-year!" Peters shot at Oaks. The mutinous Chaser pointed at Scorpius, his lip curling in absolute hatred. "If Malfoy didn't have that broom, we'd be killing you guys."

"If you continue to act unsportsmanlike, I will eject you from the game, Mr. Peters," Madame Hooch said sharply. This shut Peters up, but Scorpius couldn't help but feel that Peters wasn't finished with Scorpius. Peters lined up next to Scorpius, pushing him over. Scorpius glared at Peters and didn't retaliate; he knew that Peters was trying to throw him out of the game.

Before Madame Hooch threw up the Quaffle, Peters yelled, "Selmine Snake!" The Gryffindors shot him a confused glance but Madame Hooch ignored his outburst. However, the Slytherins glanced excitedly at each other and grinned maliciously. Scorpius felt a thump in his stomach. What was the Selmine Snake? He knew it was some sort of play, but he hoped that it wasn't anything life-threatening...

He had no more time to think. Madame Hooch tossed the Quaffle in the air and Scorpius immediately shot after it. Peters aimed a kick at his face, and the Gryffindor section exploded in boos and curses at the Slytherin Chaser. Scorpius dodged the attack and nicked the Quaffle out of the air. He was speeding towards the goalposts when he noticed that no one was in front of him; not even the Keeper, Lloyd, was defending his goalposts. This was strange. Scorpius glanced back to see that the Slytherins had gathered around Gryffindor's goalposts and were doing some type of weave that involved Bludgers. James and Fred were flying in between them, trying to hit the Bludgers away from the goalposts and towards the center of the field, but they were unsuccessful.

Scorpius knew what he had to do. He sped to the Slytherin goalposts and threw the Quaffle into the left post. There was a 'ding!' and to Scorpius's surprise, no one cheered. Confused, Scorpius glanced behind him and saw that the Gryffindors were crowded around a motionless figure on the ground, while the Slytherins were cheering and clapping each other on the back.

"... And just before Scorpius Malfoy scored, Sam Spikes, the Gryffindor Keeper, was knocked out by a stray Bludger. No one knows _who _hit the Bludger at him, but I think it's pretty obvious that it's Slytherin - sorry, Professor, just telling the truth - anyway, if there was proof that Slytherin _had _hit it, their Beaters would be ejected (which _should _happen, being as no one saw the twin-cousins hit it at Spikes). But, since there's an element of doubt, I regret to inform you that Sam Spikes is being sent to the Hospital Wing while Gryffindor is left without a Keeper..."

"No!" snarled Scorpius, speeding to the Gryffindor goalposts. He landed beside his teammates and saw a motionless Spikes being carried away by three Gryffindor students that Scorpius didn't recognize. James and Fred were looking angry, snarling at the Slytherin Beaters, while Jane and Oaks were trying to hold them back. Oaks looked furious, but he knew it was unwise to pick a fight with Slytherin.

"Will we have to forfeit?" Scorpius asked fearfully, glancing up at the sky. Albus and Nott were still circling around, hunting for the Snitch. Scorpius saw James and Fred calm down as Oaks shook his head sadly. Although everyone on the Gryffindor team looked furious, there was still determination lingering in their eyes. Oaks stepped forward, shaking his head again.

"No," he said confidently. "We won't forfeit. The Quaffle hasn't touched the Slytherins yet, and they won't even nick it if I can help it. Scorpius, they're aiming for you or Albus next. You're too fast on your fancy broom, so they're probably going to aim at Albus. James and Fred are to surround Albus at all times from an attack, unless Albus catches sight of the Snitch. Jane and I will face-guard the Slytherin Beaters so they don't get any ideas," The Gryffindor team turned to Scorpius. "Scorpius, just keep doing what you're doing," Oaks nodded to him. "Get the Quaffle, score. Do it again and again. They're going to surround you when Madame Hooch throws the Quaffle out, so you'll have to speed out immediately and sprint away from them. Sounds good?"

The rest of the team nodded, their eyes full of hatred and determination.

"Let's win it for Spikes," James stepped forward. "We'll show everyone that Gryffindor can win, even without a Keeper."

"And Spence," added Oaks. "Even when us Gryffindors have a replacement Seeker, we can still catch the Snitch."

No one dared to argue, not even James or Fred. The twin-cousins exchanged a glance but wisely chose not to speak. Oaks continued, rounding up the team with a motion of his arm. "Okay," Oaks said, mounting his broom. "Let's go, guys. Let's win this. Take out all of the anger and hatred and frustration on this team. Don't get kicked out, though. Just play fierce!"

The Gryffindors nodded in intense determination and lined up at the center of the pitch. Oaks and Jane flew side-by-side to the Slytherin Beaters, while James and Fred flew closest to Albus. Scorpius noticed all three Slytherin Chasers had surrounded him. Gulping, Scorpius sighed in an attempt to calm himself and focused on the Quaffle. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and tossed it into the air.

Immediately, Pierce Travers kicked Scorpius in the face. Scorpius spun backwards and heard 'booooooo's from the entire Gryffindor side. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and presented Travers with a foul. Travers tossed Scorpius the Quaffle, baring his teeth at him. Scorpius's nose was throbbing in immense pain, but Scorpius put on a mask of determination as he gripped the Quaffle in his right hand. _Yeah, idiot. You're so bad at Quidditch that you have to resort to Muggle methods to try to stop me._

Scorpius immediately bolted away when Madame Hooch blew the whistle. He glanced back and saw that Travers, Peters and Flint were attempting to catch up to him, but they had no shot of catching up to Scorpius's Firebolt V. Scorpius shot them a rude hand gesture behind his back as he dodged Lloyd's clumsy figure. Scorpius did a spin as he kicked the ball into the center post. 'Ding!' It was now one hundred to zero. The Gryffindors were going wild.

Scorpius knew he had to at least score to one hundred and fifty. He had every ounce of faith in Albus, but he wanted a buffer just in case Ted Nott got lucky and caught the Snitch. Scorpius found himself lining up next to five Slytherins now; the Slytherin Beaters had joined the Slytherin Chasers. Once the whistle was blown, four Slytherins surrounded Scorpius while Mattox Flint grabbed the Quaffle.

Scorpius thought desperately, _Help!_ and his Firebolt V responded. It spun around, whipping all of the Slytherins surrounding Scorpius in the face with its twigs, and streaked off towards Flint's hunched figure. Flint was speeding towards the goalposts on his awful Cleansweep Thirty. Scorpius immediately caught up to him. Flint glanced to his left, panicking, and Scorpius waved at him. "Think you could outrun me, Flint?" jeered Scorpius as he weaved around Flint. Flint, terrified, fumbled the Quaffle and Scorpius nicked it from him. Thanking his Firebolt, Scorpius easily reached the Slytherin goalposts and scored again.

And again. And again. And again. And again. The Slytherins had given up at this point; it was one-hundred-sixty to zero. The Gryffindors were cheering a chant that Scorpius could only barely make out...

"_Scorpius Malfoy is for who we cheer!_

_Slytherin, how does it feel to be scored on by a first-year?_

_Travers, Flint, Rogers and Nott,_

_You're getting beat by quite a lot!_

_You might have taken out Spikes,_

_But we're beating you by one-hundred-sixty, yikes!_"

Scorpius thought that the cheer was quite funny and absolutely ridiculous. As the team began to line up again, Scorpius zoomed over the Gryffindor section and waved his hands up and down to signal to his fans to cheer louder. The Gryffindors screamed and yelled in happiness when Scorpius flew around the stands; Scorpius even started a wave by starting on one side and flying to the older. The wave of maroon and gold followed him to the other side of the field.

As Scorpius descended to the center of the pitch, he glanced up to the teachers' box and saw his father waving ecstatically at him. When he caught Scorpius's eye, he shot him two thumbs-up. Scorpius had never seen his father so excited before. It was strange that he was so happy, especially because Scorpius was destroying his old House's team. Ignoring this thought, Scorpius grinned at his dad and returned to the center of the field to line up.

There was a sudden gasp from the crowd. Scorpius craned his neck over the five Slytherins surrounding him and saw Albus dive towards the Slytherin stands. Nott was attempting to follow him, but Albus was going too fast. The Slytherins yelled and jeered at Albus as the young Potter swiftly reached out a hand and enclosed it around something. Immediately, a Slytherin jumped up and pushed him off of his broom, and Albus fell ten feet to the ground.

"Al!" Scorpius gasped, descending to the ground and sprinting over to his motionless friend. Albus was a heap of maroon and gold on the ground; but when Scorpius bent over him, he stirred. Albus sat up and smoothed his hair at his face. Grinning at Scorpius, he thrust his right hand in the air. To Scorpius's surprise, something gold was flitting in between Albus's gloved fingers.

"I caught it, Scorpius!" gasped Albus as the Gryffindor crowd exploded in applause. Scorpius glanced behind him and saw the rest of the team flying to the ground, sprinting towards Albus. The Gryffindors were piling out of the stands and were running over to the two first-years. Albus proudly held up the Snitch as Scorpius helped him off of the ground. Immediately after Albus stood up, Oaks almost knocked Albus to the ground as he gripped the first-year in a tight hug. James, Fred and Jane clapped Albus on the back as Oaks lifted the first-year on his shoulders.

"'ey!" A familiar voice greeted the team. Spikes emerged, staggering onto the field. There was a huge bump on his head, but other than that, he looked completely okay. He hoisted Scorpius onto his shaking shoulders as the entire Gryffindor House surrounded the team, cheering and whooping in delight. Albus and Scorpius high-fived each other from Spikes and Oaks's shoulders; Scorpius couldn't remember a time when he was happier.

"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Louis's voice was screaming from the commentator's box. "ALBUS POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH AND GRYFFINDOR HAS BEATEN SLYTHERIN TWO-HUNDRED-AND-TEN TO ZERO! WITHOUT A KEEPER! SO TAKE THAT, YOU CHEATING, DIRTY, AWFUL - okay, sorry, Professor, no - give it back! Haha!" Louis had sprinted onto the field, a furious Professor Winston tearing after him. "GRYFFINDOR WINS! THEY ADVANCE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AGAINST RAVENCLAW! _WHAT A GAME_!"

The cheers around Scorpius were deafening, but he didn't care. Every single Gryffindor wanted to high-five him, give him a clap on the leg (no one could reach his back, he was so high in the air), and to cheer for him. Scorpius spotted a familiar red-haired girl among the crowd and waved happily to her. Rose jumped up and down on her feet, her head barely managing to stay afloat among the older Gryffindors. "You did it!" she squeaked as she approached Albus and Scorpius. "Both of you! We won!" She grabbed both of their hands and Albus and Scorpius cheered, pumping both of their fists in the air.

It was the best day of Scorpius's life.

* * *

The Gryffindors were planning to throw a huge party in the Common Room that night after dinner. It had certainly been an eventful day; Scorpius had never been congratulated more in his life. The Slytherins were still extremely hostile, but whenever the Slytherins approached Scorpius a herd of Gryffindors would hex and curse them. Scorpius felt like the most popular kid in school.

Scorpius also saw his dad before Draco left. It was the first time he had seen his dad after his mother died. They hugged and Draco asked if Scorpius was alright; Scorpius said that he now was. To Scorpius's surprise, Draco was very happy that Scorpius had beaten his team and congratulated Scorpius for his sixteen goals against Slytherins. "I'll let Janice Aerpuff know!" Draco exclaimed as he left, which made Scorpius's mood climb even higher.

Only when Scorpius was eating dinner at the Great Hall did he remember what had happened the previous night. "Hey, Albus," he said as he munched on a chicken leg, "Now that we're not being mobbed by a thousand people, d'you think you could inform me of how I managed to stay alive last night?" Scorpius saw Rose bite her lip apprehensively, did she know what had happened, too?

"Oh, right!" exclaimed Albus as he finished his stuffed mushroom. "Ah, about that. Okay, so, uh, you were getting pummeled by Macnair - " Scorpius narrowed his eyes bitterly, why had he been so stupid to challenge a kid five feet taller than him? " - and I was getting strangled by Rowle. I tried to go over to help you, but Rowle kept hurting me. So get this: I saw a flash of purple light and Rowle collapsed beside me. It was the Body-Bind Curse; he couldn't move. And I saw this Ravenclaw first-year run down the stairs and use the same curse on Macnair."

"What first year?" interrupted Scorpius. "There's a first-year that can do the Body-Binder Curse?"

"Well, she's in Ravenclaw so she's got to be smart, I guess," Albus shrugged, and craned his neck to see the Ravenclaw table. "Her name's Sable Harper... I'll try to point her out to you... ah, there, see! She's sitting right next to that Beckett Fitzroy kid you used to be buds with, ah, light-brown hair, sort-of tan, freckles?" When Scorpius showed no signs of spotting her, Albus continued, "There! Eating her treacle tart. You see now?"

Scorpius nodded. Sable Harper was a very pretty, slightly tanned girl with light brown hair tied into a long braid. Her eyes were very, very blue; they weren't the light blue that Rose had, they were just _blue_. The kind of blue that you never thought existed in eye color; Scorpius was absolutely astounded because he could see her eye color from the Gryffindor table. "Wow," Scorpius said in awe. "Her eyes are so blue!"

"Yeah," Albus grinned. "Anyway, I'll continue our little tale. After she knocked out Macnair and Rowle, she immediately ran over to you and tried to pick you up. When she couldn't, she used the Levitation Charm we just learned - _Wingardium Leviosa, _you know? - and literally carried you back to the Gryffindor Tower by directing you with her wand. It was incredible! She asked if she should take you to the Hospital Wing, but I said no, of course, because we had a game tomorrow. So then she started giving me these _instructions _on what to do with you - said she read a book about people being knocked out or something - anyway, I did the Charm after some practice and brought you up to the dorm. It was like, ten o'clock then. So, I told James, Fred and the team about it, and we just let you sleep until the morning. It was scary; no one knew if you would get up."

"Sounds like someone you'd be friends with, Rose," Scorpius smiled at Rose, who shook her head indifferently. "Reads books and knows all sorts of Charms and spells - huh, I thought _I _was second in the class behind you, Rose... maybe I have competition..." He shrugged and turned to Albus. "Wait, hold on, she just left Macnair and Rowle lying there?"

"Oh, yeah!" Albus's grin grew wider. "That's the best part! After she levitated you and stuff, I walked over to both of them and just went crazy, Scorp! I stomped on Macnair's nose and face and he couldn't move to stop me and it was _great_. And then, I went over to Rowle and kicked him right where it hurts, and I was about to do more but Sable told me not to."

"Did they get in trouble or anything?" Scorpius asked curiously. "It'd be strange to find two beaten-up first years lying in the Entrance Hall, wouldn't it? And plus, what were they _doing _last night? Isn't it a bit suspicious that Rowle and Macnair just _happened_ to be lurking around the Entrance Hall at night? I know what you're going to say, Albus - but I don't think that they were ambushing us. I saw Macnair's face. He looked really guilty about something."

"So many questions!" exclaimed Albus lightheartedly. "Anyway, yeah - Macnair and Rowle have a Saturday detention next weekend. They would've had it today, but they're stuck in the Hospital Wing for a bit to clear up their wounds..." Albus smiled triumphantly. "And anyway, whatever they were up to, it was probably something stupid like trying to figure out how to multiply the emeralds in the Slytherin hourglass. Oh - and, get this - they've both gotten _one hundred _points taken away! Each! They're not popular in Slytherin right now."

Scorpius grinned in delight as he finished his treacle tart. "Can this day get any better?" he asked joyously, gulping down the wonderful dessert.

"It will," A voice said from behind Scorpius. Scorpius whirled around to see James, Fred and Louis grinning down at him. "We've got a celebration to attend, Scorpius!" Scorpius started to stand up from the table. He tried to motion for Albus and Rose to join, but they shook their heads and pointed at their dinners. 'We'll see you later!' Scorpius saw Albus mouth to him. Nodding, Scorpius followed the Rapiers out of the Great Hall.

There were a lot of students leaving the Entrance Hall as the Rapiers tried to make their way to the hall of staircases. Scorpius weaved in between groups of chattering people and accidentally bumped into a small, brown-haired girl. She stared up at him with incredibly blue eyes and Scorpius took a step back, surprised. She seemed to recognize him, too.

"You!" Scorpius exclaimed. Realizing his tone, he coughed and grinned. "I mean - Sable, right?" The girl nodded. "You're the one that saved my life last night, right?" Again, Sable nodded. "Wow, uh, thank you, Sable. Without you, I wouldn't've been able to play Quidditch today and we would've lost, so, uh, thanks." He grinned.

"A little cocky about your Quidditch skills, huh?" Sable asked, dismissing Scorpius's thanks. "'We would've lost'. Huh. Although your performance was somewhat amazing today, us Ravenclaws know the secret to your success, Scorpius Malfoy. And that one Slytherin - what's his name? - Peters, did, too. I don't think the Ravenclaw game will be as easy as the Slytherin and Hufflepuffs."

"Getting a little hostile three months before the game, eh?" Scorpius teased cheerfully, albeit a little hurt at her criticizing comments. "So, uh, _Sable_ - uh, Harper, izzit? - _Sable Harper_ - what exactly is the secret to my success, then?"

"Your broom," she said flatly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And to think I'm third in the class behind you, Scorpius Malfoy. It's kind of insulting. Anyway, your broomstick is the only reason why you've _ever _been talented at Quidditch. Your dad could probably buy this castle thirty times over; your family's that rich, so it's really no surprise that you have the best broom in the game. Anyway, sure, you have _some _amount of talent, but your broomstick's the only reason why you're a star. It's painfully obvious."

"Geez," Scorpius raised his eyebrows, feeling extremely hurt. He didn't insult her only because she had saved his life last night. "Someone's a harsh critic, then, huh? I was just being polite and saying thank you, but if you want to insult me, go ahead, I guess - "

"I just notice things," Sable said evenly. "You're in my Herbology class, Scorpius Malfoy. I see you fool around with that Albus Potter and the Weasley girl - Rose, I think? - anyway, you used to be friends with Beckett. So I've heard of you. I'm only criticizing you because you need it. You're just too arrogant for your own good."

"Uh, okay," Scorpius began to walk away, feeling incredibly hurt and very weirded out. "Thanks, mom? Wait, I don't have one. I forgot," These days, joking about his mother's death lessened the pain... a bit. "I'll be going, then, if you're just going to be mean to me. I would say thank you, but I want you to keep your image of me as an arrogant prick." He stalked away towards James, Fred and Louis, who were waiting for him by the stairs.

"Who was that?" Louis asked interestedly.

"Some creep," growled Scorpius, walking up the stairs.

"Oooh, you've got a _fan club _already?" James caught up to Scorpius's left side.

"Girls are already stalking him and he's only in his first year," grinned Fred to Scorpius's right.

"Oh, to be famous," sighed James, snickering to Fred and Louis.

Scorpius ignored them; his head was whirring with thoughts of the rude Sable Harper. What right did she have to be so mean? All he was saying was a _thank-you_... geez. Ravenclaws really _were _snobby then. Scorpius tried to throw the annoying first-year out of his mind, but even when he did, he felt her incredibly blue eyes trained on his back as he ascended up the stairs.

* * *

Two updates in one day! I spoil you all x

Answering to Scorpius's 'amazing' Quidditch skills, he's really not that amazing (like what Sable said). He's talented, obviously, but he's always had brooms that outstrip everyone else's due to his incredible fortune and that's really why he made the team as a first-year. If he had a regular old broom, he would've probably made the team in his second or third year. Also, his father has been bringing over the top Quidditch instructor in the country for years in the hopes that Scorpius would become an excellent player. He's not a prodigy by any means; just a rich kid with some talent and a remarkable broomstick. I didn't really make that clear in the story, but I thought I'd try to explain this a bit.

And I kind of want to explain Macnair too. Macnair's a very wealthy child whose grandparents ended up in Azkaban like Scorpius's eventually did (however, Scorpius's grandmother died before Lucius landed himself with house-arrest, maybe that's why he's a bit unhinged? hmm). However, Scorpius wants to escape from his family's dark reputation while Macnair embraces it. So they're two sides of the same coin, sort of. Something to think about.. xx

Thanks for reading! Btw I do NOT own JK Rowling's characters or anything about HP, just wanted to clear some things up about my fic! Thanksss xx


	19. E I G H T E E N

**Chapter Eighteen: History Repeats**

When Scorpius woke up the next day, everything hurt. His head, his chest, his legs and arms... every part of his body felt like they had been slammed with eighty hammers. Then, he remembered two nights ago when he had been beaten up by the Macnair. Sighing in pain, Scorpius propped himself up on his bed and surveyed his dormitory.

It was a mess. Harrison's banner was splayed onto the ground, robes and shirts were strewn all over the floor and Scorpius could still see red and gold sparkles glittering around the dormitory. Last night, the Gryffindors had thrown a huge celebration in the Common Room. Scorpius had been thrown up in the air and caught again as whoops and cheers surrounded him. The twin-cousins had emptied an entire box of Weasleys' Wheezes Party Packets, which contained crazy fireworks, streamers, loud noise makers and even strobe lights. Scorpius remembered that Rose had retired early in the night, but Scorpius had celebrated with his House until Fred and James had left the Common Room.

"Scorp?" Scorpius heard a familiar voice. Glancing to his side, he saw Albus beginning to wake up in his four-poster bed. Scorpius quickly glanced around and saw that the only other person in the dorm was Everett, who was beginning to stir, as well.

"Yeah, Al?" Scorpius asked, lifting himself out of bed and shakily walking over to his trunk to change into his robes. As he bent over, he stifled a squeak of pain; his chest was aching so badly that it was hard to bend over. Scorpius was so sore from Macnair beating him up that he could barely put his robes on. Even tying his shoes on was a struggle.

"Sore, eh?" grinned a deeper voice from across the room. Everett had already gotten out of his bed and was completely dressed. His light brown hair was still ruffled and there was a glimmer of tiredness in the first-year's brown eyes. He smiled kindly; Scorpius knew that Everett, like the rest of the school, had heard of Scorpius being beaten up by a Slytherin and then saved by a Ravenclaw. If Scorpius hadn't stolen the show in Quidditch, he suspected he would've been the laughingstock of Hogwarts.

"Yeah," grunted Scorpius, biting his lip in pain as he stood up from tying his shoes. He didn't like to show weakness, but he was just hurting so badly. His stomach grumbled; he was starving, too. "Maybe some food will make me feel better."

"I'm hungry, too," yawned Everett, clutching his small stomach. Everett was a very athletic, thin-framed boy. He loved telling Scorpius all about the football he had played as a kid; Scorpius kind of knew the sport from reading some books about it (he was a Chelsea fan), but he hadn't been to any matches. Even though Scorpius, Albus and Flynn had tried to tell Everett that no wizard played football, Everett was still determined to show off his moves to any one that would listen. He had even brought a football ball; Scorpius had tried playing around with it, but Albus and Flynn refused to touch it.

"Hold on, I'm coming," Albus's voice murmured from his fifth of the room. He emerged from behind his bed with his robes sloppily hanging from his arms and his messy hair looking even messier. Scorpius guessed that his friend had a rough night's sleep. Albus didn't seem to notice Everett and Scorpius's critical stares; he grabbed his wand from his bed and rushed over to his friends, motioning from the door. "C'mon, I'm starving," he muttered, leaving the dormitory. Scorpius and Everett exchanged an amused glance and followed their friend out of the dormitory.

The Common Room, like Scorpius's dormitory, was deserted. This was a little strange, because on Sunday mornings one could usually find a group of students playing Gobstones, or Wizard's Chess, or studying, or just talking in general. Albus and Everett didn't seem to notice the empty Common Room; they rushed out of the portrait hole and Scorpius followed them, guessing that everyone had just conveniently gone to breakfast at the same time.

"Hey," Everett said as the three first-years reached the Entrance Hall. "What's that all about?"

He was pointing to a humongous crowd of students gathered around the wall of the Entrance Hall. They all seemed to be pointing to something and whispering hurriedly. There wasn't a single kid who didn't have a flicker of fear glimmering in their eyes. Scorpius exchanged a confused glance with Albus and rushed down the stairs, his two friends following him. Scorpius was thin, so he was easily able to squeeze through the crowd until he reached the wall.

A pang of surprise hit his stomach when he saw what was etched onto the wall. Someone had painted a purple circle with a purple cross drawn through it. He glanced to his left and saw Albus there with Rose. She looked at Scorpius, her eyes wide with fear. "You remember this, don't you, Scorpius? All of us have seen this sign before, I just can't - "

" - It was in the newspaper," Scorpius murmured, glancing at the sign apprehensively. "Remember? It was in the _Daily Prophet_, it was burning over that Muggle-born Ministry official that had died. But that's not only where I recognize it from..." Scorpius shook his head, angry with himself. "Someone that I met was _wearing _this symbol around their neck, I just can't remember who..."

"Students! Out!" yelled a commanding voice. Scorpius glanced behind him and saw Professor Winston striding towards the wall, followed by Professor Longbottom, Professor Black and Professor Tate. A smaller figure skipped behind Professor Longbottom; Scorpius guessed that the tiny man was trying to get past his big colleagues. When the small man emerged from the shadows, Scorpius took a step back in surprise. This was Headmaster Flitwick! If Flitwick was here, then this sign must be really serious...

"Come on!" Rose tugged at Scorpius's sleeve. Scorpius wanted to watch the Professors' reaction, but Rose pulled him away before Scorpius could see Professor Flitwick's expression. Scorpius rounded on her, upset, but before he could say anything she herded him into the Great Hall and sat him down. She pulled out a stray _Daily Prophet _from the Gryffindor table and threw it in front of him, her eyes wide with panic.

'THREE MUGGLE-BORNS KILLED AT THE MINISTRY' blared the headline. Scorpius, confused, glanced at the picture below the article. It was moving, of course; three Muggle-borns were lying side by side, all with the strange marking that had been painted on the wall burning over them. Scorpius was absolutely shocked. This wasn't a prank that some idiot student had pulled; this was serious. This marking signaled death to Muggle-borns... but _who _had Scorpius seen wearing it? He usually had an excellent memory... why couldn't he remember this?

"This is why it's _imperative _for you to remember who you saw wearing this mark!" Rose hissed as Albus sat down across from them. Scorpius glanced at her and saw that her blue eyes were big and scared. Scorpius knew that this was serious, but why was Rose freaking out about it? She wasn't a Muggle-born, she wouldn't be attacked... but wait, her mother! Her mother was a Muggle-born Ministry official... _Oh, no... _thought Scorpius.

As Scorpius drifted into his own thoughts, Rose filled Albus in. He, like Rose, looked very scared. "Your mom," he blurted to Rose. "Your mom's a Muggle-born Ministry Official! That's who they've been killing!" This outburst from Albus threw Scorpius out of his thoughts. There was a moment of silence, and Scorpius chomped on a piece of toast as he watched Rose's expression contort into one of fear and apprehension.

"I know," she said quietly. "I-I have to write to her. Can I borrow your owl, Scorpius?"

"Yeah," Scorpius stood up, finishing his last pancake, "Here, you can use Apollo. I need to check on him, anyway, so I'll go up to the Owlery with you." Scorpius glanced at Albus, who was in the middle of eating his breakfast. "Do you want to come, Albus? Rose and I are going off to the Owlery," Scorpius asked his friend. Albus glanced up and shook his head, pointing down to his breakfast. He mumbled something and Scorpius could barely make out, 'I'll see you later'. Shrugging, Scorpius departed with Rose towards the Owlery.

Something was unusual; Rose wasn't talking. Even as they walked down the deserted corridors together, Rose didn't say a word. Usually, she was talking Scorpius's ear off about her essay that she had just turned in, or the lesson they had previously discussed in class. Scorpius glanced over and saw that her eyes were wet. Was she crying? "Rose?" Scorpius asked uncertainly, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I know I'm freaking out, it's just - my mom, Scorpius. She might die... I don't want my mom to die." She seemed to remember that Scorpius's mother had died a little more than a month ago and gasped, sobbing. "I-I'm sorry, Scorpius. I know that your mom just died... but I don't want my mother to be _m-murdered _because she's a Muggle-born..."

"Rose," Scorpius began, stopping her in the hall. Her breaths were coming in short, shallow gasps as she sobbed. "Your mother's _not _going to die, okay? Be rational, Rose. You're the smartest girl in the year, just _think_. Harry Potter is her best friend, and he's the Head of the Auror office. I'll bet my family's whole fortune that he has placed every ounce of protection possible on her. _He's _probably guarding her himself, or your dad is. You're being completely ridiculous, Rose. This isn't like you."

"I-I know I'm being completely irrational," Rose sighed, blinking away her tears. "It's just really not fair. You, Albus and I are completely safe in this school and b-because of our _birth _- while my mom, who's done nothing wrong, is in danger at her own workplace..." Again, Rose sighed and shook her head sadly. She dragged her hands across her face and began to walk. "I'm sorry, Scorpius, I really shouldn't've freaked out like that - "

" - No, it's okay," Scorpius said. "People do crazy stuff for their families."

After about five minutes of quiet conversation, Scorpius and Rose arrived at the Owlery. Scorpius walked in and was greeted with the familiar stench of owl droppings, dead mice and feathers. Scorpius glanced around the Owlery for Apollo, his Great Gray Owl. "Apollo?" he called uncertainly, looking nervously at Rose, who was holding her nose shut. Immediately, Scorpius felt a pair of claws slightly grip his left shoulder. Scorpius glanced up and saw his friend perched onto his shoulder. "Hi, bud," he said happily, extending a hand for Apollo to land onto. Apollo perched onto his hand with a 'hoot!' and Scorpius walked over to Rose, who looked at Scorpius's owl with interest.

"A Great Gray?" Rose asked interestedly. "He's very big and a little..."

"Creepy?" Scorpius grinned at Apollo, who let out an indignant 'hoot!'. "This is Apollo, Rose. Apollo, this is Rose. She needs you to deliver a letter to someone named Hermione Granger-Weasley. Got it?" Apollo let out a 'hoot!' and perched on Rose's shoulder. Rose looked utterly terrified for a second, but pulled out a spare piece of parchment, ink and a quill out of her pocket and walked over to the wall. Apollo flew around her, hooting as she wrote her letter. About a minute later, Rose finished and tied the letter to Apollo's extended talon. After it was tied on, Apollo let out a final 'hoot!' and flew out of the window into the cold, February weather.

"He's nice," Rose said happily, turning and smiling at Scorpius.

They exited the Owlery together, joking about Scorpius's silly owl and Rose's strange cat. They were departing the West Tower when Scorpius saw a familiar figure approach him. Light brown hair, freckles dotting her slightly-tanned skin, the bluest eyes he's ever seen. His eyes narrowed as Sable Harper looked up at him curiously. As she approached him, Rose gave Scorpius a confused glance.

"Scorpius Malfoy," she said, looking at him as if bored. She turned to Rose. "Hello, Rose. How're you?" Rose smiled and waved. "Anyway," Sable continued, turning back to Scorpius. "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday. Mattox Flint is one of my good friends, so I was a little upset that he lost the match, I guess," Sable shrugged. "So, can we forget that I was ever mean to you yesterday and be civil?"

"Of course," said Scorpius, and Sable grinned.

"I'll see you around, then," Sable said, waving good-bye to Scorpius and Rose as she departed towards the Ravenclaw Common Room.

* * *

Scorpius did see Sable around. A lot. Whenever he was studying for a test alone in the library (Rose claimed she didn't like studying with Scorpius because she found it 'too competitive'), she would always plop her books next to his. Scorpius didn't mind at all; unlike Rose, Sable was pretty relaxed about studying and they both helped each other out. Finally, one day when Scorpius sat down next to his new friend, he plucked up the courage to ask her about the night with Macnair.

"Hey," he said casually as he opened his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, "So I heard from Albus that you cast a Body-Binding Curse on Macnair and Rowle that night that you saved me, so I was wondering..." She turned to glance at him, her bored-looking expression making him feel nervous. "... if you, uh, could teach me how to do it? It'll come in handy if the Slytherins ever try to jump me again..."

"You don't know it?" Sable's incredibly blue eyes were glittering with immense triumph. "Huh. They don't really teach it in classes, but most first-years, Ravenclaw first-years, at least, have learned it. The Slytherins definitely know it, too. I'd be surprised if a Hufflepuff learned the spell in their _fifth _year, but of course the Gryffindors are probably too _noble _to use such a spell..." She grinned to show Scorpius she was obviously joking. Closing her books, she stood up and motioned him to follow with her hand. "Come on, I'll teach it to you in this cool room I found with my friend, Ivy Kevins."

Scorpius closed his books and followed her, excited about the 'cool room' Sable was talking about. Was it a room that he could show the Rapiers? He slung his books in his bag as he departed the library, Madame Pince eying him suspiciously. Sable led him through a maze of corridors and stairs until Scorpius had no idea where he was. Sable skipped ahead to the left of the large corridor they were in and stopped at a large, stone wall. She stared intensely at it and Scorpius gave her a curious look.

Suddenly, there was a shifting of rock and a door seemed to surface out of the wall. Scorpius gasped in surprise and looked at Sable in awe. She grinned smugly and opened the door, stepping into the room. Scorpius followed her into the strange room and his eyes widened in awe when he saw the incredible room they were in. It was lit by torches and had comfortable mats and hammocks surrounding it. A small library was to Scorpius's left. A humongous clock was hanging in the middle of the room.

"What is this place?" whispered Scorpius, placing his bag on the ground.

"The Room of Requirement," Sable smiled. "Ivy and I found it when we were running away from Mr. Filch. We were on our way back to our Common Room a few minutes after curfew, and he was determined to hang us or something. So anyway, I was desperately hoping for some escape from Filch and this room appeared!" She motioned to the room happily. "Although, it was a bit smaller when Ivy and I hid in here, and there weren't any mats or anything. I guess it changes depending on what you want it to be."

"Wow," Scorpius breathed, glancing at his friend. "So this is where you'll teach me to cast the spell?"

"Yeah," grinned Sable. "The incantation is _Petrificus Totalus_ - "

It took Scorpius about two tries before he perfected the spell. He felt bad about stunning Sable, but she had taught him the countercurse so he easily could un-paralyze her when he cast the incantation. She brought out a book called _Beginner Curses _and they practiced funny and sometimes violent curses for another hour. After Scorpius's face was aching from Sable's Bat-Bogey Hex, he called it a day and him and Sable departed the room.

Sable and Scorpius both arrived at the Great Hall together. It was lunchtime. Scorpius waved goodbye to his friend and practically skipped over to the Gryffindor Table; he couldn't wait to tell Rose, Albus and the Rapiers all about the room he had just discovered. When he sat down, he saw Rose's eyes narrow. Albus, however, waved happily.

"You're friends with Sable?" Rose asked lightly, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Yeah!" Scorpius exclaimed excitedly. "She helps me a lot with studying, and she taught me all of these cool spells and curses. She also showed me this room in the seventh-floor corridor, I think? It's very cool, you have to pace back and forth three times and stare at it real intensely and tell it what you want. And then it makes a room out of it! It was the greatest thing I've ever seen. I can teach you guys all of the cool curses I learned from her."

"Cool!" Albus said, leaning forward on the table. "Can you show us? Rose, d'you want to come - ?"

Before he could finish, Rose haughtily gathered her books and stuffed them in her bag. " - I have to go to the library," she said shortly, stalking out of the Great Hall. Scorpius glanced down at her plate and saw that her meal hadn't been touched; her pumpkin juice must have been the only lunch she had. Scorpius glanced up at Albus, confused. "D'you think it was something I said?" he asked as Rose's figure exited the Great Hall.

"Nah," Albus shrugged. "Whatever. You'll show me the room, then?"

* * *

That night, Scorpius had shown the Rapiers the Room of Requirement. They were overjoyed and moved all of their Animagus books and plans over to that room. Whenever the Rapiers entered the room, it would turn itself into a huge library full of Animagi records, Hogwarts maps, spell books and even books that illustrated all different types of curses. There were large, paned windows surrounding the Rapiers' Room of Requirement that showed the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts.

Soon, the cold, dreary days of February melted into the warmer, crisper weeks of March. Scorpius received a letter from his father on the second week of March that told Scorpius he was invited to the Weasleys' Easter Gathering during the Easter holidays. Draco would be attending, too. Scorpius agreed to attend, but was a little nervous. Rose was still being short with him, especially because Scorpius was always studying with his friend, Sable, these days. Albus supposed that Rose was just upset that Scorpius was hanging out with Sable instead of her and Albus. _Yeah? _Scorpius had said. _Why doesn't she tell me herself? What problem does she have with Sable, anyway?_

"I'm bored," Louis Weasley said as the Rapiers strode down the packed corridor. It was Saturday, so no one at the school had classes. However, everyone was roaming around inside of the castle because it was raining outside. Scorpius and the Rapiers were on their way to the Room of Requirement, where they would study up on Animagi theory.

"Me, too," James Potter yawned. He drew his wand, twirling it around in his hands. "Y'know what I feel doing? How about we practice that cool Bat-Bogey Hex we finally learned how to use?" Fred nodded excitedly, raising his wand, while Louis just shrugged and continued to look tired. Scorpius glanced at the Rapiers, confused. Who were they going to practice on?

"Scorp, you want to try first?" grinned Fred.

"Try what?" Scorpius asked.

"The Curse, of course!" James rolled his eyes in obvious exasperation. "Look, just aim it at some random kid that's milling around us in this hall. It'll be so funny, come on. I swear to do it after you if you do it first!" James held out a hand, and Scorpius eyed it warily. Sure, he might get in trouble, but Easter was right around the corner, so what was the worst that could happen? Grinning, Scorpius shook James's hand and pulled out his wand with his left-hand. Scorpius was a left-handed wizard, something that he learned was a rarity at Hogwarts.

"_Vespertilio Nasum!_" Scorpius cried, pointing his wand at a random Hufflepuff fifth-year walking past them. Immediately, the Hufflepuff keeled over on the ground, clutching his nose. The sudden disturbance caused the crowd to gather around the Hufflepuff, confused. Suddenly, bats started flying out of the Hufflepuff's nose. There was an explosion of laughter and Scorpius saw everyone doubling over, cracking up. James gave him a clap on the back as Scorpius snickered happily.

"What are you doing?" Someone tapped his shoulder and Scorpius spun around and saw Sable Harper glaring at him.

"I'm - uh, practicing those new curses we learned," Scorpius said, confused at why Sable was so upset.

"You don't just hex random people," snorted Sable. "That was really cruel, what you just did."

"Look, it's not even a big deal," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I'll just do the countercurse and he'll be fine. Stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out," retorted Sable. "You know what? Everyone was right about you. You're just a big-headed, pureblood rich kid. You're cruel and mean, just like your dad. And you're a coward for trying to secretly hex that kid." She turned around and stalked down the packed corridor. Scorpius tried to apologize, but he easily lost her small figure in the humongous crowd. Scorpius glanced around apprehensively and saw Rose glaring at him, her arms crossed.

"What?" Scorpius shot at her. "You're going to tell me off like she did?"

"_No_," Rose said. This was the first time she had talked to Scorpius in days. "That was very mean of you, but if you just reverse it, it'll be - "

" - Stop trying to be my mom all the time, Rose," spat Scorpius. "I don't need one anymore." Stuffing his wand in his pocket, Scorpius turned away from the scene and stormed out of the corridor, his mind whirring with thoughts of cursing Sable and hexing Rose. He didn't care if a stupid first-year Ravenclaw thought he was cruel and mean. He didn't care what anyone thought of him, but no one had any right to call him a coward. No one.

* * *

The weeks flew by, and soon, Scorpius found himself sitting on the Hogwarts Express en route to King's Cross. He had completely alienated himself from Rose the past few weeks, much to her and Albus's concern. Now, Scorpius was exclusively hanging out with James, Fred and Louis. Albus was trying to convince Scorpius that they had been a terrible influence on him, but Scorpius didn't care. He only cared about a few things these days: the Rapiers, grades and Quidditch. Nothing else mattered to him.

"That was a nice hex you did on that annoying Slytherin second-year, Scorp," Louis congratulated Scorpius, patting him on the back. Scorpius twirled his wand around in his hand, admiring its rich wood and incredible power it contained. Only a few minutes ago, the Rapiers had gone on a walk and jinxed anyone in their way. It was quite fun to know that Scorpius, a first-year, could hold so much power over people with a flick of his wand.

"Thanks," grinned Scorpius, his smile growing wider as James and Fred winked at him. The Slytherin second-year hadn't backed down after Scorpius had warned him to move, so it was the second-year's fault, really. Scorpius had performed a simple Jelly-Legs Jinx on him and to Scorpius's knowledge, the second-year was still lying on the floor of the Hogwarts Express.

"We've got our name out the past few weeks, don't you think?" James asked as he munched on a Chocolate Frog. The trolley lady had arrived right after the Rapiers had jumped into their compartment, raving and laughing about the hexes and jinxes they had just performed. Fred nodded interestedly, pulling out a Cauldron Cake.

"Definitely," the darker-skinned cousin mumbled, his mouth full with a Cauldron Cake. "People know that we can do jinxes and hexes, so I think that it's only a matter of time before they'll watch their steps around us. I'm just surprised that no one has reported us to little miss Prefect Molly Weasley, or the oh-so-important Head Girl Lucy Weasley."

"A lot of people hex and jinx other people," Scorpius pointed out intelligently, continuing to twirl his wand around his fingers. "But we do it publicly, to people that no one likes, so everyone thinks it's a right laugh. Remember that one time, James, that you Bat-Bogied that Slytherin I hate, Damien Macnair, in front of all of the Slytherin and Gryffindors? That was the greatest thing!"

"Ohh, yeah!" James laughed, almost choking on his Chocolate Frog. "I hope I got him good after what he did to you!"

"Yeah, you got him!" grinned Scorpius, pretending to cast an imaginary spell on Fred. Fred pretended to faint, and all of the Rapiers laughed.

"Oooh, Scorpius," Louis's bright blue eyes lit up as he leaned forward. "We forgot to tell you! There's a really cool Muggle village outside of where the Weasleys' house is, it's called Ottery St. Catchpole. It's not as cool since it's a Muggle village, of course, but it's always fun to just walk around and pull some 'magic tricks' out to freak out the Muggles in the village." Louis grinned, his eyebrows raised at James and Fred, who were smiling widely.

"You're not doing that again, are you?" a familiar, bossy, commanding voice said from the doors of the compartment. Scorpius glanced to his left and saw Rose standing there, her arms crossed. Albus was behind her, looking extremely embarrassed. "You almost violated the Statue of Secrecy when you went there last time! You pulled an awful trick on that Muggle boy - "

" - Oh, shut _up_, Rose," Scorpius growled at her. "What did I tell you two weeks ago? Stop trying to act like everyone's mom. You're changing into Lucy Weasley by the day, and it's quite frankly making everyone sick. Just stop bossing everyone around and stop worrying for once in your life. You're eleven, but you're acting like you're twenty-one." Scorpius glared defiantly at her as her once-commanding expression faltered._  
_

Rose opened her mouth to say something, but it immediately closed and her face turned a deep red. Her blue eyes watered as she turned away from the compartment and stalked away. Albus stood there in shock, his green eyes wide as he stared at Scorpius as if he didn't recognize him. "That was really mean, mate," Albus finally said, turning to follow his cousin.

"Don't listen to him," James said, his eyes bright as he grinned at Scorpius. "That was brilliant! _Finally,_ someone told her off. She's been bossing me around since she could _talk_." Louis and Fred beamed and nodded in approval at Scorpius. Scorpius felt proud of himself for a second, until he remembered how Albus had looked at him.

Sure, he didn't care what _Rose _thought of him, but Albus was his best friend. For the first time in weeks, Scorpius began to realize that he had acted like a complete idiot. Rose was extremely sensitive, why had he said that to her? Sable had been right; Scorpius _was _becoming cruel and mean. Affiliating himself with only the Rapiers had caused his already-big head to inflate even larger. A sick feeling began to boil up in his stomach. How could he ever apologize for the past two weeks?_  
_

* * *

For the sake of this fic, I image the Room of Requirement repaired itself after the course of 19 years. Although, I do not think the Room of Lost Things will ever be the same. x


	20. N I N E T E E N

**Chapter Nineteen: The-Boy-Who-Needs-Saving-Quite-a-Bit**

It was the most awkward Easter celebration Scorpius had been to.

Draco, still bitter about affiliating himself with his old rivals, hardly took part in the family aspect of the holiday and usually could be found moping and sobbing in his room. Scorpius had tried to comfort his father, but the young Gryffindor had his own problems that kept him occupied. Albus and Rose were completely ignoring Scorpius, even though Scorpius had tried many times to apologize. Scorpius wanted to have fun with the Rapiers but didn't want Albus and Rose to think that he was throwing away their friendship, so he had to be very careful about the pranks he pulled with the Rapiers.

"Still ignoring you?" James asked Scorpius the day before Easter. The Rapiers were headed off to the village for the first time. Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily were tagging along, but they walking in a separate group than the Rapiers. That moment, Scorpius had tried to wave to his old friends but they had rudely turned their backs on him. Shrugging sadly, he nodded to James.

"Yeah," Scorpius mumbled, chewing on a citrus candy. He angrily kicked a stray blade of grass. "Ever since the train ride when I told Rose off, they've been ignoring me. I tried to apologize and everything, but they won't even hear it," Scorpius spat out his citrus candy angrily: it had turned from an orangey flavor to an awful lime one. "It's so annoying."

"They'll come around," reasoned Fred, narrowing his eyes quizzically at Lily, Hugo, Albus and Rose. The quartet was a bit ahead of the Rapiers, and they didn't show any signs of hearing Scorpius's conversation with the Rapiers. Scorpius was almost regretful about this; if only they could hear him say how sorry he was. Truthfully, Scorpius had many chances to apologize to Albus and Rose, but he clung onto his pride too heavily and this didn't allow him to deliver a sincere apology.

"See," Louis was munching on a chocolate egg, "Rose is just angry because you told her the truth, Scorpius. She's been bossing everyone around since forever! And you've seen her around Lucy, who's like her _idol_. Lucy's the most boring and just awful person to be around. No fun, Lucy is," Louis shook his head sadly. "It's been sad watching Rose turn into something like her. Rose is all studious and stuff, but she definitely got the bossiness from that Lucy Weasley."

James and Fred nodded in agreement. "Very true," James nodded, pointing a finger at Louis as he chewed on his Bertie's Blueberry-Flavored Bubble Gum. "I know Rose's family better than I know most of my other cousins. We've been friends since birth, and I can tell you, Rose has always been a smart one, albeit a_ tad_ bit bossy. But ever since Lucy was awarded Prefect and Head Girl and whatever the hell she wastes her life on, Rose has been obsessed with her. She wants to be just as smart, if not smarter, as Lucy. The bossiness and arrogance _really _kicked in this year."

"It was about time you told her off!" Fred announced loudly. To Scorpius's dismay, Albus turned around and shot Scorpius a very nasty look. Albus probably figured the Rapiers were talking about Rose, which was the truth. Albus hissed something into Rose's ear and Rose shook her head, her arms crossed over her chest. Hugo and Lily glanced back curiously. Scorpius hung his head while Fred muttered an apology.

"They think you're a bad influence on me," continued Scorpius, a wary eye trained on the quartet of Weasleys and Potters in front of him. They were walking faster now; James let out a sigh of exasperation as the Rapiers sped up. Unfortunately, Mr. Harry Potter had given Fred ("the most responsible out of you fools," Mr. Potter had claimed) the duty of watching everyone, so the Rapiers had to keep an eye on the younger cousins.

"There's a bit of truth in that," Fred figured, shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, we pull funny pranks on innocent people, but it's not like we're bad guys or anything. It's only for a good laugh; it's not like we're the next Voldemort, trying to recruit followers and hexing people to show how powerful we are. We're doing it for a completely different purpose: for a laugh. I guess Albus and Rose think we're bullies."

"They're just acting like a bunch of rule-following pricks," snorted James, angrily shaking his head. "I can't believe Al said that to you, Scorpius. It's funny; Al used to love pranking people for the fun of it, don't you remember in the beginning of the year, Scorpius? I think he joined in on one of our pranks against you once. Anyway, _Rose _is the one influencing him. Now he's quieter and _softer_. How hypocritical."

"I don't want to keep arguing with them," Scorpius said exasperatedly. They had hiked up the final hill and the village was looming below them. It was a pretty village; it had crammed, cobbled streets with stores lined among them, and further out were houses with farms. In the middle was a town square. Scorpius thought it was quite nice. "And I don't care who's influencing who. I just think everything will be back to normal once we're friends again."

"Yeah, you were a good influence on Rose and Albus, I suppose," Louis reasoned, his eyes lighting up once he caught sight of the village. "Rose became a lot less uptight and kind of relaxed, didn't you notice?" James and Fred nodded. "And Al - you gave him a harder shell, Scorpius. He's always been a bit sensitive and thoughtful from the start, but I think he's grown to be a bit tougher. And you're also a pretty good influence on us. You made us see logic when we were about to pull a stupid prank."

"Yeah," grinned Fred. "You're not afraid to fight with us, and that's why we like you so much!"

Scorpius beamed as James smiled smugly. "Oooh, what trick should we pull on the Muggles now?" James asked, his brown eyes glittering with excitement. Scorpius saw his right hand shift and guessed that the eldest Potter was pulling his wand out of his pocket. "We can't do Lumos again, the Muggles thought it was a cheap 'splashlight' or whatever they called it."

"Flashlight, I think," murmured Fred, twirling his wand in his hands. His blue eyes were narrowed in thought. "Hmm, we could do something like that, though. It just can't be _too _obvious that we're actually performing magic... because then we'll get in trouble with Hogwarts... definitely not a jinx..." Fred shook his head as if erasing ideas from his head.

"I've got it," Scorpius said craftily, taking out his own wand with his left hand. A vision of vampires flashed through his head as he grinned at the Rapiers, who were looking at him with interest. "The fire spell. _Incendio._ Or the Bluebell Charm if you want to be soft." Scorpius muttered the incantation and a spark of fire erupted from his wand. The Rapiers' excited faces gleamed in the firelight.

"Perfect!" Louis Weasley said, his blonde hair turned orange from the flame. "Yes... it won't cause _too _much attention, but it'll scare the Muggles a bit! _Incendio!_" The tip of Louis's wand had turned to flame. The blonde Weasley looked at it, grinning. "So, which of us will have the honors of casting the spell? Oh - I shouldn't even have to ask," He beamed with a glance at James.

James's eyes darkened cunningly. To Scorpius's surprise, the Rapiers' eyes were aimed at him. "It was your idea," James grinned at Scorpius, who looked taken aback. "Why don't you show the Muggles living in Ottery St. Catchpole a little magic trick?" Scorpius gulped, glancing at his wand. What if he was caught and expelled from Hogwarts? What if he made something explode? _You're acting like Rose Weasley! _His mind scolded him.

"I - " he began, glancing from Fred to Louis to James. They were all looking at him nonchalantly, but Scorpius knew that there was a deeper meaning in their expressions. If he refused, he would lose their respect forever, and then, where would that leave him? He would basically be friendless, just like he was earlier in the year. " - I - I don't know how to show magic to Muggles, exactly."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's _easy_, and I thought you were supposed to be the second smartest in your class," He walked over to Scorpius, waving his wand. "See, you tell them you're a retired magician or whatever and ask if they'd like to see a neat little trick. They say sure, you perform a _very small _amount of magic and you watch their expressions! Honestly, it should be some sort of sport, it's so entertaining."

"O-okay," stammered Scorpius, looking nervously at James. The Rapiers had reached the village now; the quartet of Rose, Albus, Lily and Hugo were departing towards the town square. Motioning the group with his hand, Fred trotted after them, followed by the rest of the Rapiers. Scorpius glanced around the village and was surprised when he saw the Muggles. They were dressed really strangely; they didn't wear robes. Some seemed to be holding up a square box to their ears and jabbering in it, while others were browsing on a square box. Scorpius turned to ask Louis what the Muggles were using, but he glanced up and saw Louis sprinting around a corner. Sighing in anger, Scorpius stuffed his wand in his sock and followed the Rapiers and the quartet down the dark alleyway.

The sun was beginning to set, casting long and dark shadows among the alleyway. The Weasleys and Potters had disappeared; Scorpius stopped in the alleyway, glancing around to look for his friends. To his dismay, the alleyway melted into different passageways that led all around the village. Scorpius examined them, confused, and chose the darkest-looking one that led to the brightest part of the village. Scorpius assumed he was headed back to the town square.

His footsteps echoed down the alleyway as he made his way towards the bright square in front of him. Scorpius heard a shuffle of footsteps behind him and guessed that the Weasleys and Potters had finally found him. Scorpius turned around gratefully. "Where have you guys been - ?" he asked angrily. Scorpius stopped mid-sentence when he saw who the footsteps belonged to.

Two huge, broad-shouldered men were standing in the alleyway, their arms crossed over their chests. They were completely dressed in black; Scorpius faintly noticed that their clothing had holes and cuts in it. Their beards were scruffy. Scorpius guessed these men were very poor. Scorpius glanced back towards the village and saw many people milling around. If only he could reach the light...

The men began to approach him. They didn't look too friendly. They also didn't look very fast. Scorpius gulped and sprinted towards the village, his heart thumping as he willed his legs to go as fast as possible. Immediately, Scorpius felt a stampede of footsteps hurtling after him as he began to sprint. Scorpius began to yell and scream for help. He was about to reach the light, happy village when Scorpius felt his legs buckle as one of the men tackled him to the cold, stone ground.

Scorpius struggled, pounding his fists onto the ground and yelling for help. Where were the Weasleys? He thought desperately as one of the men tied a shirt around his legs and his mouth. Scorpius was gagged; he no longer could yell. He could move his hands, but this wouldn't help him at all. The men easily carried him to the darkest part of the alleyway, where they threw him against a garbage can.

"Give us your money, rich boy," one of them snarled, his face dangerously close to Scorpius's. Scorpius closed his eyes in dismay as he remembered his appearance; he looked well-groomed and was wearing very nice clothing. No wonder the men had targeted him; they thought he was some rich Muggle boy wandering down the alleyways.

"_Dnnn... haff... neee..._" Scorpius tried to gasp. The rope gagging him prevented him from speaking, though; the next thing he knew, he was being carried upside down from his ankles. The biggest of the two men shook him in an attempt to empty his pockets. Luckily, Scorpius had tucked his wand in his sock, so it didn't fall out. Scorpius had been carrying three Galleons and some candy in his pockets. They fell to the floor with a series of clinks.

"What's this?" The smaller of the two men asked, picking up one of the Galleons. He looked at it interestedly, his piggy, scarred face contorted into a mask of confusion. The larger man dropped Scorpius and the boy landed on his head with a 'thump!'. Scorpius's eyes watered in pain as his head throbbed. He rolled around on the ground in an attempt to escape. However, one of the men kicked him. "I asked you a question!" he roared.

"_Whut_?" Scorpius managed to mutter out of his gag.

"Just take it off," the bigger man growled, pointing at Scorpius's gag. "We'll never be able to get a word out of him while it's on."

"What if he yells?" the smaller man asked, untying the shirt around Scorpius's mouth.

"Punch him or sommat, I'unno," the bigger man's eyes narrowed at Scorpius. He was holding up a golden Galleon. "Now boy, where'd you manage to get this piece of gold? Is this foreign money or something?"

Scorpius's head was throbbing so badly; every sound ached. Scorpius decided to play smart and did his best impression of a Russian accent. "Yiiis," he said, guessing that the poor men weren't that smart. "I come from distant country vere ve 'ave gold as our currency," he cleared his throat; this Russian accent was quite taxing on his throat. "My father eez big Russian celebrity body guard..."

"Yeah, _right_," snorted the bigger man, rolling his eyes. "Russian body guard? He's probably some rich old Siberian man."

"How much money will this gold get us?" the smaller man asked, holding up the two remaining Galleons.

"Nothing," the bigger man shook his head. "Maybe one hundred pounds, give or take," His gaze turned back to Scorpius. "Where's the rest of your money, kid? If you don't choke up more, we'll kill you."

Scorpius took the threat seriously. "I don't have any," he blurted in his English accent. The two men exchanged a surprised glance and narrowed their eyes suspiciously at Scorpius, whose eyes widened. _Crap. I just gave my cover away!_ He thought, trying to reach in his sock for his wand. However, the bigger man saw that Scorpius was attempting to reach for something and kicked him in the face. Scorpius yelled out in pain and collapsed to the ground, tears running freely down his face.

"Tell us where the rest of your loot is, Russian boy," snarled the bigger man. Scorpius was floating in and out of consciousness; his head felt like it was being ripped open. "You know that we're not afraid to kill you, punk."

Scorpius heard a flutter of footsteps from another alley. He only had once chance to save his life. "HELP!" he yelled as loudly as he could, "SOMEONE! HELP! PLEASE!" Before he could finish his screaming, he saw a foot hurtle towards his face. Scorpius bellowed in pain as the foot connected with his nose and flew backwards, the cement wall connecting with the back of his head. His head exploding in pain, Scorpius drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

There seemed to be a light ahead of him. Scorpius swam towards the light, eager to escape the darkness. However, right before clasping his hand around the tiny orb of fire, Scorpius heard familiar voices from below him. Scorpius widened his eyes in surprise when he saw a pool of water beneath his feet. Scorpius's confusion grew when he realized that he seemed to be floating in this darkness.

He glanced up at the ball of light regretfully at he swam downwards towards the water. The closer he got to the water, the more clearer the voices became. Scorpius heard the familiar, slightly high-pitched voice of his best friend. _Albus?_ thought Scorpius, confused. Albus's name echoed in the darkness as Scorpius bent down closer to the pool of water. When he put his hand in the freezing-cold depths, he could make out the words Albus was saying.

"His heart... is it beating?"

"Slowly," the reply murmured. Scorpius's stomach flipped when he recognized the frightened whisper of Rose. She sounded really concerned about something. Scorpius dipped his other hand into the water so that he could hear his ex-friends more clearly. Rose continued to speak quietly. This time, Scorpius took his hands out of the water and decided to stand in it.

"It's... it's slowing down...!" Rose's whisper grew louder and more high-pitched. Scorpius panicked; whose heart was slowing down? Was it James? Fred? Louis? His dad? Scorpius took a deep breath and completely plunged into the water. To his surprise, the sandy bottom which he had been standing upon completely disappeared and the darkness from outside had begun to surround him. Bubbles flew out of his mouth as Scorpius gasped in fear; once again, the darkness engulfed him.

However, this time, Scorpius felt pain. There were worried sounds around him, and when Scorpius tried to blink open his eyes he felt as if he had been clubbed by thirty-thousand hammers. Biting his lip in pain, Scorpius squinted open his eyes and found himself to be laying down in a familiar looking house. _Why am I not dead?_ he thought groggily, remembering when he had been jumped in the alleyway. _Is this heaven...?_

There was a hand on his heart. It twitched when Scorpius had opened his eyes. "Hey!" A high-pitched, light voice called. Scorpius recognized Rose's voice. "Hey, Mr. Malfoy, sir! It's Scorpius! His heart stopped - " There was a 'no!' from the corner of the room, but Rose continued. " - but now it's beating faster! I think he'll be alright...!"

There was a stampede of footsteps and Scorpius saw two figures skid into the room. One was his father, Draco, who was looking extremely pale and gray with worry. The other was Albus, who like Scorpius's father, looked very concerned, but there was also a guilty glimmer in his eyes. _No,_ Scorpius thought. _This can't be heaven. Someone's saved me... again... but who?__  
_

Scorpius's father and Albus crouched over Scorpius's twitching figure. Scorpius was in so much pain, he could barely keep his eyes open without his head feeling like it was going to split apart. Summoning up all of the strength he had, Scorpius attempted to say something. However, it only came out as a whisper. "D... dad... how..."

"He's alive!" gasped Albus, pointing at the stirring Scorpius. "He's been beaten up so many times this year, I never thought - "

" - Scorpius," Draco lightly shook his weak son. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"N... no..." Scorpius was using every ounce of strength he contained in order to force the words out of his mouth. "My... head..."

"Oh!" Scorpius's father muttered in astonishment, rifling through his robes until he located his wand. "Okay, easy fix, buddy. You're going to feel a bit of pain - " Draco tapped his wand on Scorpius's face, and Scorpius felt a jolt of pain course through him. Yelling out in pain, Scorpius writhed and twitched on the bed he was laying upon. The pain ended almost as quickly as it started. Scorpius relaxed, allowing his body to go limp.

" - Can you talk now?" Draco asked nervously.

Scorpius sat up, blearily rubbing his eyes. His head was still aching slightly, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it did three minutes ago. Once his eyes were fully open, he propped himself against the headboard and nodded. "Yeah, I-I feel a lot better," he murmured, taking time to move his arms and his legs to make sure he was alright.

"What happened?" Albus whispered from Scorpius's right. Scorpius was surprised that Albus was talking to him, but didn't want to question it. Sighing, Scorpius began his story. He told the three in the room about how he had tried to catch up to everyone, but got lost in the confusing network of alleyways. Then, Scorpius explained how he was jumped by the dirty men and how he faked his accent. He further illustrated his tale by adding how he was thrown, tied and gagged around. When he was finished, all three of the people gathered around him looked disgusted.

"We were looking for you," Rose spoke for the first time. Her voice was quiet, and like Albus, she looked extremely guilty. "Albus and I. Louis, Fred, James, Lily and Hugo all spread out to look around the village, but Al and I figured you got lost finding us in the alley... everyone kind of forgot you've never been in the village before. We heard screams and stuff, and when we went over, we saw you being thrown a-against a wall..." Her voice was beginning to stammer. "S-so then we did that jinx you always do on people... _Petrificus Totalus_... we did that... it's d-during the school year, so we shouldn't get in too much t-trouble... b-but i-it threatened the Statue of S-S-Secrecy..."

Scorpius felt awful. He knew how much Rose had probably struggled to cast the spell; Rose, the anti-Rapier, never would have cast a spell on a Muggle unless she absolutely needed to. "Thanks," Scorpius said, smiling slightly. He turned his head and noticed something strange; no one else seemed to be in the Burrow. This was unusual, because the Weasleys usually housed at least thirty people during the holidays. "Where's everyone else?" he asked lightly.

Draco gravely looked down, while Rose and Albus exchanged apprehensive glances. His two best friends' eyes moved towards Scorpius's father, who looked extremely distraught. "There's... been a problem," Draco began. His voice was very hoarse. Scorpius felt his heart thumping. Something very serious had clearly happened. "Azkaban prisoners revolted and killed the guards... there's been a break-out, Scorpius - "

" - W-what?" Scorpius stammered. "Y-you don't mean that _everyone__'s _broken out, d'you...?"

"... Most have," Draco looked very upset. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Angelina, Audrey, Fleur, Charlie, George, Percy, Bill, Ginny, Mr. Weasley... everyone that has ties to the Ministry had to leave to address the problem. Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Tonks have stayed behind, but... there's going to be more security around Hogwarts, I think. We... there's going to be guards watching out for you, too."

"Why me?" Scorpius's brain wasn't quite processing what was happening.

"Because Scorp..." Draco looked his son in the eye for the first time. "Your grandfather is the one who led the escape."

* * *

"See Scorpius, look," Rose threw the latest _Daily Prophet _at Scorpius. Albus, Rose and Scorpius were on their way back to Hogwarts from the Easter holidays. It had taken Scorpius about three days to recover from his physical and mental wounds. The Rapiers had tried to cheer Scorpius up, but these days, Scorpius was acting very haunted and scared. He was afraid that Lucius would try to target him again.

Scorpius glanced down at the _Daily Prophet_. The front page article read 'MASSIVE BREAKOUT IN AZKABAN: THE FIRST IN TWENTY YEARS!'. Below it was a picture of the many convicts that had escaped. In the middle of the mug-shots of the criminals was the prison itself. The prison had completely crumbled, and a strange, circular sign with a cross through the middle was burning over Azkaban. Scorpius felt a pang of realization slap him across the face.

"It's the sign," Rose began to explain. "Look, see? It's there again, there must be - "

"- I know who was wearing it!" Scorpius gasped suddenly, his eyes widening in fear. He almost punched his still-throbbing head in frustration. He hadn't been able to remember who was wearing the symbol because Scorpius had been trying to block out the night... but no, now that night was constantly flashing through his brain so he was able to remember... "It was my grandfather! Lucius! I saw him wearing it around his neck."

"That would make a lot of sense!" Albus exclaimed, pointing fervently at the article. "He was wearing it... he's always hated Muggle-borns and the symbol always burns over them when they're killed... he was one of Voldemort's followers, so that's probably where he got the idea to throw the symbol over his slain for... and he escaped, and the symbol's burning in the air! D'you think he's trying to become the next Voldemort?"

"Maybe..." Rose looked at Albus with surprise; usually, Albus didn't come to these types of intelligent conclusions. "I think it's a stretch to say that Lucius was trying to become the next Voldemort. Mr. Malfoy did switch sides during the War, after all, and plus, Voldemort was an extremely evil and twisted man. He created eight Horcruxes! Lucius may be evil, but I think there's a fine line between evil and insane."

"That's true," yawned Scorpius, wishing to get the subject out of his head. Every time Lucius's name was mentioned, Scorpius felt a shadow of the Cruciatus Curse burning into him. Turning to Albus, Scorpius decided to change the pace of the conversation. "So, Al, you ready for the Ravenclaw Championship game in two weeks?" Fred and James had decided to keep Spence in St. Mungo's, just in case Oaks tried to bring him back.

However, Al didn't know this. "I-I'm still playing?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, Spence is still in the hospital, dummy," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "And plus, even if Spence _was_ back, he wouldn't be playing. He hasn't caught the Snitch the entire time he's been on the team. You're only a first-year and you beat the best Seeker at Hogwarts to the Snitch! The team wouldn't allow Oaks to bring back Spence."

Albus looked shocked. Scorpius yawned again and stretched his arms. "I need to find James, Fred and Louis," he mumbled, needing a pick-me-up. He had to ask the Rapiers a few questions about the prank they were going to pull on a group of Slytherins at Hogsmeade (Scorpius wasn't allowed to visit the village, obviously, but James was convinced he had a way to sneak the first-year in). "I'll be back in like, ten minutes."

"See you in ten minutes," Albus said, feeding his ferret, Dibbles, a spare carrot.

Scorpius waved and exited the compartment. He glanced to his right, and then to his left; the Rapiers always sat to the back of the Express, so that meant that Scorpius would have to go to the right. Scorpius looked into the compartments as he was passing them. He saw his friends, Everett, Flynn and Harrison, and waved to them, but didn't stop by to chat. Towards the back of the train, Scorpius saw a group of Slytherins huddled in a compartment. They looked as if they were planning something. One of them caught Scorpius's eye and pointed to him; the rest of the group looked at Scorpius, their eyes wide with surprise. To Scorpius's dismay, the Slytherin who had spotted Scorpius stepped out of the compartment and began to follow Scorpius.

"Hey, you!" called the kid. Scorpius turned around to face the thin, lanky, brown-haired fifth-year. The Slytherin extended a pale hand. "My name's Alec Meath. I'm from Slytherin, as you can tell by my robes..." Scorpius apprehensively shook the fifth-year's hand. Alec didn't appear like he wanted to harm Scorpius; in fact, his hands were both hanging by his sides in an attempt to show Scorpius that he wasn't carrying a wand.

"Anyway," Meath continued. "You're a Malfoy, right? What's your first name? Something with an S... uh, hold on, let me guess - Sylvester - ?"

" - Scorpius," Scorpius muttered.

"Ah, Scorpius, okay," Meath chuckled. He seemed friendly; Scorpius was pleasantly surprised that there was a human in Slytherin who was acting nice towards him. "Well, as you've heard... there's been a massive break-out in Azkaban, your grandfather leading the charge, of course. Anyway, although you're not the most popular bloke in Slytherin, us Agnos agree that because you're a pureblood, we might as well warn you. As you know, us purebloods are dwindling as campaigns for Muggle-born and half-blood equality prevail..." There was a flash of anger in Meath's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"What are you trying to say?" Scorpius asked warily. He was confused on one word that Meath had said: Agnos. What were the Agnos? However, he didn't think it would be wise to ask.

"Right to the point then," Meath grinned. "So, the student Agnos are planning a sort of... diversion during the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Championship match. I know you're playing in it, so I wanted to warn you not to attend. I _would _warn that other pureblood, Roxanne Weasley, who's playing for Ravenclaw, but her family's a bunch of blood-traitors so it doesn't even matter if she's hurt - "

" - Roxanne's my friend," Scorpius said coldly, his respect for the Slytherin dwindling after every word Meath uttered. "And what exactly do you mean by diversion? And who are the Agnos?"

"Ahh, quite misinformed, aren't you?" Meath's smile grew wider. He looked quite malicious. "Well, I would've thought since you are the grandson of Lucius that you would know... anyway, why don't you ask your grandfather? Write to him about the Quest, and the Agnos, and I'm sure he'd love to inform you. I'm quite surprised that your father isn't part of the Agnos, really - "

" - my grandfather and I aren't on speaking terms," growled Scorpius.

"Not my problem," Meath was beginning to look impatient. "Look, I don't have time to tell you all about the Movement, and this isn't quite the place to tell you. If you'd like to learn more, I'd be glad to talk to you later. However, I suggest that you write your grandfather before I tell you anything about the Agnos or the Movement. I just want to leave you with one thing, Scorpius: don't go to that game. I know you're playing in it, and I know it's the Championship, but I don't want to risk killing a pureblood, especially Lucius's grandson. Our numbers are already running out."

He turned and stalked back to his compartment, leaving Scorpius as confused and scared as ever.

* * *

Whoo, finally the story is heating up! Hopefully you'll remember the prologue; it's going to tie in soon. Now the real action begins! I'd love to know what you guys think! xx


	21. T W E N T Y

**Chapter Twenty: The Double Crossed**

Scorpius decided to not tell anyone about Alec Meath's confrontation with him in the compartment. A week after Meath told Scorpius about the Agnos, and Scorpius barely had time to think about his grandfather between Oaks's taxing Quidditch practices and Scorpius's struggle to prepare for his exams in two months. Like him, Rose was already organizing and studying, while Albus and the Rapiers hadn't even thought of their examinations yet.

One dreary Sunday morning, exactly six days before his Quidditch match, Scorpius had an idea. What if he wrote his grandfather asking for information and pretending that Scorpius would be on the Agnos' side? Or, Scorpius could just tell the truth and say he was curious about the Agnos movement. Sure, Lucius was probably extremely upset at Scorpius, but Scorpius had cunning Slytherin blood running through him, and Scorpius knew that he had the ability to write his grandfather a convincing letter.

_Dear Grandfather,_

_Although we did not start off too well a few months ago around Christmastime, I have a few questions that I would like to be answered..._

_The "Agnos movement" seems to have taken a hold at Hogwarts. There also seems to be a quest for an item. I am extremely curious about this Movement and the item. Everyone that I have asked has told me to write you about it... _

_I know that you don't trust me with this sort of information, so I am willing to pass on information concerning anyone you'd like in order to receive information on your movement (this includes the Potters and the Weasleys)._

_Signed,_

_Scorpius Malfoy_

Scorpius attached the letter to Apollo and watched his owl fly around the Hogwarts grounds. Scorpius thought it was strange that Apollo seemed to know where Lucius was residing and almost wanted to track Apollo, but figured that the Ministry had tried all sorts of methods like that. He supposed his letter wouldn't be tracked. _Good,_ he had thought. _If the Potters and the Weasleys read that, they'll think I'm _actually _giving Lucius information on them instead of passing fake information!_

Even after sending the letter, Scorpius was reluctant to tell Albus and Rose about what he had done. He wanted this to be his own private little mission; he already knew that Rose would be astonished that he was contacting a Dark wizard, and he supposed that Albus would want Scorpius to contact Mr. Potter about information on the movement. However, Scorpius had a feeling that the Auror office had no information about the Agnos, or else they would've figured out who the leader behind the movement was and what the symbol stood for.

There wasn't even any time to confide in his friends, really. As the weekend ended, Hogwarts became filled with tension and fierce competition. The Gryffindor House was the only House rooting for their own team; the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were eager to see Gryffindor be crushed, and thus, sided with the Ravenclaws.

Scorpius was the most targeted player of the Gryffindor Team; the first-year had to give his broom to Professor Longbottom in-between practices because so many people had attempted to steal it. The other Houses thought that Gryffindor's source of success was Scorpius's broom (the Firebolt V did help loads, but Scorpius knew that the Gryffindors still had a standing chance if his broom was taken).

Albus, on the other hand, wasn't as confident as Scorpius. Every night, even after Quidditch practice, Albus could be found continuing to practice catching the Snitch. He did all sorts of dives and flips and rolls; Scorpius thought that Albus was one of the best Seekers he's ever seen. Albus, however, lacked confidence, and Scorpius knew that Albus's insecurity had the ability to hurt the Gryffindor team.

The night before the match, Scorpius decided to take a break from studying (much to Rose's distaste). Scorpius was sitting across from Rose as she was poring over a Transfiguration book. Her hair was slightly frizzy and her blue eyes had a wild gleam to them. Rose had been stressing over one Transfiguration spell for the past few days. Scorpius had offered to help, but Rose was convinced that she could figure it out herself.

"What exactly are you trying to Transfigure?" Scorpius asked curiously, peering over the lamp at her book. He saw a picture of a snail changing into a needle and looked at his friend strangely. "Rose, we didn't even learn this kind of stuff yet. This is, like, in the last chapter of the book..." She continued to ignore him; she wrote down a paragraph of wand theory regarding the spell and glanced up at him.

"_Yes_, Scorpius, but I figured that I should get a head start on it so I won't have to stress over it while I'm learning it..." She said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Scorpius rolled his eyes in clear exasperation. "You're stressing over it now because Professor Black hasn't even taught us the wand movements regarding this sort of spell. Why don't you just study the earlier chapters so you don't have to worry about those once you've learned this?"

Rose looked up at Scorpius indignantly. There was a clearness in her eyes now; she had realized that Scorpius was right, but didn't want to admit it because she was too proud. She sniffed haughtily and returned to her work, pointedly ignoring Scorpius. Shrugging, Scorpius yawned and began to doodle in his notebook. "D'you know where Al is?" he asked sleepily.

"Practicing," Rose said quickly, continuing to jot down notes.

"Still?" Scorpius started to draw Rose. He drew a curly-haired figure with a oval-shaped face and big eyes. He put a big frown on her face as he drew her crazily writing down something. In her right hand, he had her clutch a wand. He laughed to himself quietly. "It's nine o'clock and it's pitch black dark outside, I'unno how he's still - "

" - I'm _trying _to concentrate - " Rose hissed.

" - you should stop _worrying_, it's a Friday night and you're studying Transfiguration we haven't even _learned _yet - "

" - shouldn't you be pulling a prank with your Rapier friends - "

" - you're literally acting like Lucy Weasley right now, look at her over there poring over a Charms book... you're only in your first year, you shouldn't be studying like this - "

" - and_ you're_ literally acting like James Potter, whose head is the size of this castle - "

" - at least he likes to have _fun_ - "

" - _I'm told you a thousand times, I'm trying to study, Scorpius Hyperion _- ! "

" - Rose? Scorpius?" The two bickering friends whirled around and saw Albus Potter standing over them, looking confused. His messy black hair looked scruffy, and his cheeks were tinged pink. It looked as if he had just run through a tornado. He looked guiltily at both of his friends and waved. "Hope I'm not, uh, interrupting anything?"

"No, you're just interrupting Rose's _studying_," hissed Scorpius, angry that he wasn't able to say the last word. "Here, Al, take a guess at what she's studying - no, it's too easy - okay, she's studying and stressing over Transfiguration we haven't even learned yet. Such a typical Rose thing to do, stress over things that we haven't even gone over in class - "

" - Oh Albus, you're interrupting Scorpius's thoughts about himself," Rose flashed back. "It's hard to think and study when you're so_ full_ of yourself - "

" - Shut up," Albus said quietly. Rose and Scorpius turned their locked gazes towards Albus, surprise mingling on both of their faces. Albus never stopped the arguing; usually, Scorpius and Rose just got tired of bickering and completely gave up. Before Albus and Rose could utter a word, Albus continued. "It's so draining being around you two; all you ever do is argue. Can you just _please _find a way to not bicker every two seconds. I'm getting sick of it."

Before waiting for his friends' response, Albus gave both of them a look through narrowed eyes and stalked up the staircase. Rose and Scorpius were each looking down at their laps, embarrassed; they stayed silent for awhile. After a few minutes, Scorpius looked up at Rose, who was still studying her lap guiltily. "So, uh, that was a slap in the face, huh?"

"You never take anything seriously," Rose muttered, still glaring at Scorpius. "You don't even care that Albus is upset."

"Are you kidding me?" gasped Scorpius, his eyes widening. "I was just trying to ease the tension! You think I want to argue with you all the time? I actually _liked _being your friend until we started arguing all the time. Now it's like you're nagging me all the time. You know what I think? I'm only eleven, so why should I be taking things so seriously?"

"That's just something James, Fred and Louis would say," Rose shook her head, disgusted. "Maybe I wouldn't have to nag you around all the time if you didn't make the most stupid decisions. You know what _I_ think, Scorpius? I think you're head's inflated three times as much ever since you've been hanging out with your Rapier pals. And you already had a big ego before you started trailing around them - "

" - I don't care what you think about me," hissed Scorpius, beginning to get upset. "I don't want to argue with you anymore. We used to be best friends, but now I feel like your life goal is to make me a rule-follower just like you and Albus. You wonder why Fergie Ferguson, Katie Boot, Carmel Carver and Brandy Prescott don't hang out with you and Al. It's because they think you'll _nag_ them all the time - "

" - Actually, I _choose _to hang out with you and Albus because I don't identify with those girls, just like how _you _never hang out with Everett, Harrison and Flynn anymore. And you know why that is, Scorpius? Oh, don't look so surprised; they've told 'those girls' why they don't want to talk to you anymore, and they told me. Yes, 'those girls' that I apparently _never_ hang out with."

"Why don't they talk to me anymore?" Scorpius asked, intrigued. He had noticed a definite change in the dorm these days; Flynn was still being friendly, while Harrison and Everett were becoming increasingly reserved. However, Everett and Harrison continued to talk to Albus as if they were great pals. Scorpius had just thought he said something offensive; he never really thought Everett and Harrison didn't want to talk to him anymore.

"Everett and Harrison are Muggle-borns, as you know, and ever since the attacks and your grandfather's escape they've been a little... _wary _and _suspicious_ about you. They think you're out to get them and you're a part of your grandfather's league. Flynn's tried to convince them otherwise, but you'll never have a chance of cleaning up your family's reputation if you keep acting so _arrogant_ all the time - "

That hit too close to home. Scorpius's lip twitched in anger at Rose's knowing glance; did she know that he had written his grandfather? After Scorpius remained silent for awhile, Rose's hard gaze faltered and she looked really guilty. "Scorpius, I'm sorry - " She began as Scorpius collected his belongings and started to walk away from the table. "Look, it sounded like I'm doubting you, but I really don't - "

" - I thought you were above being mean," Scorpius replied coldly, looking his former friend straight in the eye. "I didn't say anything nice either, but you're a completely different person when you're around me. You become competitive whenever I'm with you. You never usually argue with people, but when you're with me, you do. I'm not good for you, so I don't really see why this friendship needs to continue. Goodbye, Rose."

With that, he left his shocked and guilty-looking friend confused and hurt in the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

Scorpius was sulkily eating his toast the next morning. It was the morning of the game; today, the game would be at twelve o'clock. Gryffindor warm-up would start at ten o'clock, so Scorpius had some time to sleep in. Last night had been a rough night; to his dismay, he realized that Rose had been right about Everett and Harrison. They looked extremely uncomfortable and wary when Scorpius entered the room, and hadn't even bothered to say good luck when Albus and Scorpius departed the next morning.

Luckily, Albus was talking to Scorpius again. Albus claimed he was very sorry about how he flipped out on Scorpius and Rose, and was extremely upset when he learned that his two best-friends weren't friendly anymore. Albus had tried to convince Rose to apologize to Scorpius and vise versa, but Scorpius just never wanted to look Rose Weasley in the face ever again. She was turning mean and cruel around him, and Scorpius didn't want Rose to become an awful person because of him.

As Scorpius was finishing his toast, he heard whispers and gasps from behind him. Turning around, Scorpius saw a pack of Gryffindor girls his age walking towards him and Albus, their eyes flashing back and forth from Potter to Malfoy as they whispered hurriedly. The group contained Katie Boot, a black-haired, fair-skinned girl; Carmel Carver, a pretty girl that was tan with chestnut-brown hair; Fergie Finnegan, Flynn's twin that had his same coloring and splash of freckles across her face; and Brandy Prescott, the Muggle-born girl with dark-brown hair and light blue eyes. Brandy hung back, giving Scorpius a suspicious look, as the other three girls pushed forward.

The pack stopped when they reached Albus. Fergie, the most outgoing of the group, stepped forward and cleared her throat. "R-Rose has been sobbing in the dormitory ever since she visited you," Fergie looked uncomfortable. "We tried cheering her up, but it was doing no use, so we were wondering if you could help her? She seems really upset, and I'm worried about her - "

" - No," Scorpius interjected, standing up. He checked the watch in the Great Hall; it was nine-fifty. They would be late if they wasted another minute. "Albus and I have to get to Quidditch, we're going to be late - "

" - Quidditch? Your friend's really upset and all you care about is your Quidditch match that's in two hours?" Carmel said, her arms crossed around her chest. Katie and Fergie nodded, glaring accusatorially at Scorpius.

"She's not my friend," Scorpius said coldly. "Albus, if you want to cheer her up, go ahead, but I'm going to Quidditch."

"I - " Albus looked torn. Finally, he shook his head at the girls and shrugged. "Look - I really have to go. It's the Championship match, alright? Rose will be fine."

"That's really mean of you," Katie said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Albus said quickly as Scorpius began to pull him away. "But there's really nothing I can do to help, it's Scorpius that she's crying about - "

" - Really says a lot about you, Scorpius!" Fergie yelled as Scorpius dragged Albus out of the Hall.

After last night, Scorpius realized that he really didn't care at all what people thought about him. Especially a dumb first-year girl. All he wanted to focus on was the upcoming Quidditch match and the threat that Meath had told Scorpius about. Scorpius couldn't waste his time on some sobbing girl. It was _her _fault that she had been so harsh to him; Scorpius didn't really care if it was his actions that led up to it. She should've known better than to bring up his heritage and use it as a weapon to make him upset. It wasn't his problem.

* * *

"One, two, three!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The maroon-clad team streaked onto the pitch. They were greeted by a huge roar of applause and booing from the audience; Scorpius happily whizzed on his Firebolt V and soared around the stadium, his teammates following suit. He waved and whooped to the Gryffindor fans and 'accidentally' kicked and crashed into the Ravenclaw fans. He was so full of energy and excitement; the young Malfoy had completely forgotten about Rose Weasley.

"And the Gryffindor team enters!" exclaimed Louis Weasley from the commentator's box. Professor Winston had let him commentate again because Louis had completed all of his detentions within two weeks. However, Louis was being held on a tight leash, so if he messed up, someone was bound to replace him. Scorpius found Louis extremely funny and hoped that the blonde Weasley wouldn't be stupid enough to abuse his privileges. "Yeeeeeeees Gryffindor! And there goes Scorpius on his Firebolt V, what an incredible broom...!"

There was another deafening rumble of applause and cheers as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team entered. Roxanne Weasley led them; her tanned hand was waving in the air as she greeted her many fans. Everyone at Hogwarts was attending this match; most of them were rooting for Ravenclaw, but the Gryffindors would not be outdone. Their boo's and hisses were much more louder than the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were combined.

"And there's Ravenclaw," Louis Weasley announced in a bored tone. "Led by my dear cousin Roxanne Weasley, they have a tremendous group supporting them today. In fact, I think everyone except the Gryffindors are cheering for Ravenclaw today... usually overshadowed by Hufflepuff, who came in last this year, Ravenclaw is desperate to win the Quidditch Cup. The Ravenclaws are built up by a stronger, older squad, while the Gryffindors are known for their young but talented team. Who will win the prestigious Quidditch Cup? Only time will tell..."

There was a deafening whistle and the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws flew down to the center of the pitch where the referee, Madame Hooch, was waiting. She held the Quaffle in one arm, the Bludgers in the other, and the Snitch was clasped in her gloved, right hand. She explained the rules before blowing her whistle again. This time, she held out the Quaffle. The two teams quickly lined up as Madame Hooch bobbed the Quaffle up once, twice, three times...

"GO!" Louis Weasley yelled as the two teams shot up from the ground. Scorpius was first to the Quaffle; he snatched it out of the air and dodged around three Ravenclaws. He was streaking towards the golden hoops when a tanned, fierce-looking girl rose up from the ground to meet him. Scorpius grinned; Roxanne. She smiled smugly as she shot towards him; clearly, she thought she could beat him.

Scorpius nimbly dodged around her, yelling a "Goodbye!" as he rocketed towards the goal posts. He wound up his left arm and fired the Quaffle towards the left hoop. There was a 'ding!' as the Quaffle shot through the hoop and the Gryffindors went wild. As Scorpius was flying back to line up on the pitch, he was hugged by his joyous teammates.

After Madame Hooch threw up the Quaffle for the second time, Scorpius was again the first one to grab it. This round, there was a Keeper waiting for him; Scorpius identified the Keeper as Beckham Boot, Katie's brother and Roxanne's new boyfriend. Another figure emerged in front of Boot: Roxanne. This time she looked extremely angry but confident at the same time.

"Not this time!" She growled, gritting her teeth as she attempted to knock Scorpius off his broom. Scorpius almost lost grip of the Quaffle; Roxanne was good. However, Scorpius's broom was better. Sensing that Scorpius was about to mess up, it dodged around Roxanne by itself and twisted over a confused-looking Boot. Scorpius easily scored on the right hoop this time.

"And it's twenty to zero, Gryffindor! It looked as if Scorpius was about to fall off there, but I think his broom might've saved him! It sure looked like that - yeah, Scorpius!" Louis cheered on his fellow Rapier as Scorpius waved to his friend. Scorpius was mobbed by his whooping Gryffindor team mid-flight. "Scorpius's broom is absolutely _unstoppable_!"

Scorpius's Firebolt V was surely unstoppable. He upped the score to eighty to zero before the Ravenclaws started to get really upset. They were classier than the Slytherins, but Scorpius could tell that they were planning something. Scorpius glanced up in the sky to see Albus and the Ravenclaw Seeker, Thomas Goldstein, circling around the stadium in an attempt to locate the Snitch.

Scorpius looked back at Madame Hooch just in time to see the Quaffle being thrown up. He grabbed it again and streaked towards the goalposts. However, this time, there was something wrong. Scorpius heard a whizzing noise in his left ear and turned around to see not one, but two Bludgers chasing him. Widening his eyes in surprise, Scorpius dodged them as James and Fred flew over, hitting them away.

"Thanks!" breathed Scorpius as he regained his grip on the Quaffle and sped towards the goalposts. He dodged a furious Roxanne easily and began to feint Boot when he heard the rushing noise again. Boot's eyes widened and he ducked in fear; Scorpius glanced behind his shoulder to see two Bludgers hurtling towards him. Scorpius's broom dropped, sensing something was wrong, but the Bludgers dropped, too.

Scorpius gasped in fear as the Bludgers closed in on him. He niftily feinted them and sped away, the Quaffle tucked under his left arm, as the speedy Bludgers continued to follow him. James and Fred began to surround Scorpius as the Ravenclaws charged after him, trying to grab the Quaffle. James and Fred hit the Bludgers away, but they continued to shoot back at Scorpius.

"Scorpius!" gasped Oaks, flying towards his struggling teammate. "Here, the Quaffle!"

"It looks like Scorpius not only has one, but two, rogue Bludgers chasing after him!" gasped Louis Weasley. The rest of the audience, including the Ravenclaw supporters, were gasping in fear as the Bludgers continued to ram into Scorpius in an attempt to throw him off his broom. Scorpius glanced at the ground, sucking in his breath; he was at least fifty feet in the air. If he fell, he would definitely die.

Scorpius heard a whooshing noise and saw the Ravenclaw Beaters, Charlie Corner and Henry Corner, speed towards him, their bats in the air. "Pass - the - Quaffle - !" Henry Corner gasped as he tried to beat the Bludgers away. Scorpius was in shock; why were the Ravenclaw Beaters helping him? "There - might - be a - sort - of - ahh! - Magnet Charm - attached - whoa! - to it!"

"You idiots!" screeched Roxanne from the other side of the pitch. "Don't help him! This is our chance to catch up!"

"He'll die!" bellowed Charlie Corner; the second-year looked really concerned. "These are the fastest Bludgers I've ever seen!"

"_CHARLIE AND HENRY, GET AWAY FROM THERE AT ONCE_!" Roxanne flew over, pushing both of her Beaters away. James and Fred yelled indignantly and tried hitting the Bludgers at Roxanne, who was attempting to grab the Quaffle from Scorpius, but no matter how hard the Weasley cousin hit the Bludgers, the Bludgers would always loop around and charge back at Scorpius. Scorpius shoved Roxanne away with his right foot; Roxanne spun, screaming in fury, towards the ground. She managed to catch herself and flew back up to Scorpius; she didn't try to take the Quaffle again, but hovered around, waiting for Scorpius to drop the Quaffle.

"Pass it!" gasped James as he hit a Bludger away for the one-hundredth time. "The Corners might be right - there must be some sort of charm on the Quaffle! Maybe the Bludgers follow the - ahhh! - Quaffle! Quick - Oaks is right there!"

Scorpius yelped in pain as a Bludger struck his arm. Panting heavily, Scorpius tossed the Quaffle to Oaks, who immediately grabbed it and sped off. However, the Bludgers did not shoot towards Oaks; they stayed around Scorpius. They began to attack him more fiercely than ever. Scorpius whipped his head around at the twins. "Go!" he yelled. "You're wasting your energy on me - just go! The other Beaters are after Oaks!"

"These'll kill you!" exclaimed Fred as he hit a Bludger away.

"No, I can outfly them! Just surround Oaks and make sure he's safe - " Scorpius breathed, ducking his head as a Bludger rocketed towards him.

"You're ridiculous," snorted James, batting the Bludger away from Scorpius. However, right as he made contact, the Bludger multiplied into two. James's eyes widened and he glanced back at Scorpius. "Oh, man..." he whispered, winding up to hit one of the three Bludgers catapulting towards them. There were gasps in the crowd as James and Fred slammed the Bludgers with their bats; the crowd screamed as the Bludgers multiplied after the Weasleys hit them.

Now, six Bludgers were hurtling towards the three Rapiers. "Fly!" screeched Scorpius, pelting away. James and Fred tried to stop him, but their brooms were too slow. Scorpius glanced behind him in fear as the six Bludgers rocketed after him. Charlie Corner was right; these were definitely the fastest Bludgers that Scorpius had ever seen. _Who's tampering with these? _Scorpius asked angrily as Ravenclaw scored twice.

"FOUL PLAY! FOUL PLAY!" Louis was bellowing, pointing at Scorpius. Even though Ravenclaw scored again, there was hardly any cheering from the crowd. Everyone's eyes were watching Scorpius attempt to outrun the six Bludgers that were chasing him. There were gasps as a Bludger slammed into Scorpius's shoulder; Scorpius yelled out in pain, raising his gaze towards the sky. He had heard another whooshing noise; surely there couldn't be more Bludgers...?

But no; the shapes were bigger and faster. Scorpius saw Albus Potter dive directly above him. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Ella Chang-Elliot, was slowly chasing after him. Scorpius, distracted for a moment, watched his friend draw closer to a golden, small, flying object...

And in that moment, many things happened at once.

As Scorpius saw Albus's hand clasp around the Snitch, he heard a zipping noise. Glancing behind him, Scorpius saw all six of the Bludgers plummet to the ground. There was something surrounding Scorpius, as well; something purple and buzzing. Scorpius knew what it was right away; a Shield Charm. But who could have cast that on Scorpius, he was moving much too fast...?

And then Scorpius felt himself plummet to the ground. Someone was controlling the shield and taking him out of the game...

Suddenly, there were screams. Explosions ripped through the pitch as fire burst into the sky. Scorpius was in the middle of the burning field; he, however, was protected by this mysterious shield... Scorpius tried to look up to see if his teammates were safe in the air, but the blue sky was being choked by clouds of smoke and steam... where were his teammates? He glanced around; there was fire licking the shield at all sides. Panicking, Scorpius tried to look for the stands, but he was trapped in his bubble...

There were more screams, and Scorpius looked into the air again. There burned a symbol that Scorpius had seen many times before; a symbol that had brought back the days of fear and hiding for Muggle-borns... the circle with the cross in the center was floating above the chaos erupting at the Quidditch pitch. Shrieks ripped through the once-calm air, but Scorpius was deaf to them; _this _is what Alec Meath had been talking about on the train! Were the Agnos possibly the perpetrators behind the symbol? Did this strange symbol stand for the Agnos group?

As soon as it had happened, the screams and yells ended. The fire calmed down and Scorpius's shield disappeared. Scorpius staggered onto the faintly-burning field, coughing; smoke was clogging up his lungs. Scorpius mounted his broom and took off away from the awful smoke and fire. He reached the sky, where he had an aerial view of everything...

Chaos was the perfect word to sum everything up. The symbol was still glittering in the air, and Scorpius saw many people pointing at it with fear. If people weren't staring up at the awful symbol, they were either tending to the wounded and the burned, or sprinting towards the castle. Scorpius's stomach plummeted when he saw the injured being carried away from the stadium. _Why _had Meath done this? Oh, he would tell Headmaster Flitwick, all right... Narrowing his eyes, Scorpius shot from the burning stadium and landed neatly onto the Hogwarts grounds.

The crowd pulsed around him. Everyone was either crying, helping to carry the injured, or looking at the symbol. Scorpius began to sprint towards the castle; he planned on telling Professor Longbottom everything about Meath and the Agnos. Scorpius was positive that his teammates, being on broomsticks, would have been completely fine in the explosions. The only thing on his mind was the need to tell Professor Longbottom the truth...

Suddenly, Scorpius felt himself being pushed towards the woods to the side of the grounds. Grunting in an attempt to free himself, Scorpius felt himself get clubbed on the cheek as someone hit him. "Talk and I'll kill you," hissed an eerily familiar voice. Scorpius creased his eyebrows in fear and nodded, shutting his mouth. He was pulled into the woods.

When he turned around, Scorpius saw that he was facing Alec Meath and two other Slytherins that Scorpius didn't recognize. Each of Meath's henchmen grabbed one of Scorpius's arms. Scorpius glared at Meath defiantly; he was trapped. "It was you!" Scorpius snarled, trying to kick the awful human being. Meath's lip twitched, and Scorpius realized that the Slytherin had just stifled a laugh.

"I know what you're up to," growled Meath menacingly. "You were sprinting up to the castle. You didn't even check on your pals. You were going to tell on me, Malfoy, weren't you? Tsk, tsk, I _told_ you not to go to the game, but you didn't listen... ah, well, I guess there's always consequences to pay. One of your little friends already confronted me and I set her straight."

"Who are you talking about?" Scorpius muttered angrily.

"Red hair, first-year, Gryffindor," Meath shrugged. "She overheard me talking about the plan to explode the Quidditch match with one of my pals in the library a few weeks ago. She connected two and two and realized who I was working for... she told me to quit the plans, or I'd be sorry." The Slytherins next to Scorpius began to chuckle. Meath laughed along with them. "We made _her _sorry, didn't we, boys?" The Slytherins guffawed. Meath smiled smugly, running his wand through his fingers. "Oh yes, I expect at least four weeks in the Hospital Wing! At least she'll have the Gryffindor Quidditch team to keep her company..."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius's voice was rising with rage. "First you attack a first-year _girl__,_ and then you attack the entire school? You're insane if you think I'm going to keep my mouth shut...!"

"You _are_ going to keep your mouth shut!" Meath thrust his face in front of Scorpius's; Scorpius backed up in disgust. Meath's frown deepened as his eyebrows creased together in a grotesque expression of rage. "You listen here, Malfoy. I can destroy your precious 'reputation' with the snap of my fingers. My father's the right-hand man of your grandfather. I convinced my father to let your half-blood and blood-traitor buddies live for today. If you so much as utter a peep about me or him, he said he'd be happy to... hmm, _dispose _of your friends and their families. And better yet, he'd put the blame on you and your father! He's a very well-respected Ministry official, you see - "

" - You wouldn't," hissed Scorpius. "Y-you couldn't..."

"You want to bet?" Meath's eyes were glimmering with triumph; yet again, he knew that he had won. Meath knew Scorpius's weaknesses. He knew that Scorpius worked tremendously hard to lose his family's reputation, make new friends, become a different person... Scorpius knew that Meath could easily throw that all away. People still distrusted the Malfoys; it would be easy to frame them.

He glared at Meath in fury. "You didn't kill my friends." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"Not today... no one is dead," Meath shrugged as if he didn't really care whether or not someone had died. "But we got the message out. And managed to hurt the Weasleys, Potters, Longbottoms, Macmillans, Finnegans, Thomases and Corners in the process... all of the Muggle-born-loving idiots..." Meath bared his teeth. "I just wanted to make myself clear, Malfoy. One mutter of my name to a Professor and I'll destroy you. My father's not afraid to explode a Quidditch stadium and endanger a thousand peoples' lives; killing your idiotic friends would be a piece of cake to him." He began to stand up to leave, but Scorpius stopped him.

"You set the Bludgers loose on me," Scorpius accused.

"No, but I do applaud whoever did that - " Meath looked thoughtful. "Actually, I _do _know who did that. I'll give you a hint, Scorpie: she's the Ravenclaw Captain. Ha! You never thought a Weasley would try to kill you, huh? Just shows that the Weasleys are incredibly desperate for at least _one _victory in their pathetic lives besides the fact that Potter's their relative now - "

" - Then, you saved me?" Scorpius asked. He didn't believe a word Meath uttered; there was no way Roxanne would try to kill Scorpius just for a Quidditch win! Surely she wasn't _that_ competitive... "The Shield Charm? It was you?"

"You are correct," Meath looked as if he regretted that he saved Scorpius.

"Why?"

"Your grandfather's orders, actually," Meath shrugged. "You were supposed to be injured, but just today, he inquired that I saved you. Anyway, remember my words, Malfoy. A twitch of my wand and my father will be here. And you don't want my father here..."

The Slytherin henchmen released Scorpius and stalked out of the forest behind Meath, leaving Scorpius extremely confused and thoughtful about his grandfather. _He must have gotten my letter! Everything's working out perfectly!_

* * *

Sorry the update took a bit... I've been super busy. Anyway! Whoo, last Quidditch for this book! I'm making a series out of Golden and I'd like some feedback on what I should do... there's three choices!

1) write books first year through seventh year (like the harry potter series)

2) write the books every odd year (first year, third year, fifth year, seventh year)

3) skip to the older years (write 5th year, 6th year, 7th year; pros of this are writing more maturely)

The plot works either way, so please either PM/review what you would like! Options #1 and #3 would work out best, but let me know what you think! I have ideas for each option and I'd love to hear what you think my approach should be! x


	22. T W E N T Y O N E

**Chapter Twenty One: The Spy**

After Scorpius had emerged from the forest and sprinted into the castle, he veered towards the Gryffindor Common Room to see if his grandfather had written him anything. _I don't want Albus to see - _He thought, before halting in his tracks and widening his eyes. _Albus! Rose! The Rapiers! The Weasleys... they're hurt! I have to see if they're okay! _Immediately, a guilty feeling swam in Scorpius's stomach as he started to run towards the Hospital Wing.

There was a huge crowd swelling outside of the Hospital Wing when Scorpius reached it. Most people were trying to get in to see their friends, but Madame Pomfrey was too busy tending to burn victims that she didn't really notice if anyone was going in or not. Scorpius used this to his advantage and ducked below everyone and snuck inside the Hospital Wing. There were three rooms that were built since the Battle of Hogwarts; a left room, a right room, and a center room. Scorpius saw the familiar maroon and gold Quidditch robes in the right room, so he ran in there, shutting the door as he entered.

The entire Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams were laying on three dozen beds, motionless. Scorpius gasped in shock. There wasn't a single member of the two teams, besides Scorpius, that was unharmed. Scorpius saw a motionless and slightly-burned Roxanne unconscious next to one of the Corners. Scorpius whirled his head to the other side of the room and saw the Gryffindor team lying very still. Rose and Louis were unconscious next to them.

_No... no... I can't believe Meath! I know Meath'll kill them if I tell someone, but this just isn't okay! _Scorpius ran to the Gryffindor team's side of the room, checking everyone's pulse to make sure that they were alive. He started with Albus and ended with Rose. Yes, everyone was alive; they had just been knocked out by the force of the explosions. The only Gryffindor victim with extreme burns was Sam Spikes, but they didn't look life-threatening.

However, Rose wasn't unconscious. She was just in a light sleep. Rose was attacked by Meath before the match, so had already been patched up by Madame Pomfrey. She was just resting. Feeling incredibly guilty, Scorpius lightly shook her until she woke up. It took a few moments, but Rose finally opened her weary, blue eyes. When they registered Scorpius, she jerked in her seat. "You - how - ?" She feebly pointed to the rest of the room where the two Quidditch teams were lying unconscious and burned.

Scorpius didn't know how to explain what happened without revealing Meath. "My - uh - broom sensed something was coming and created a Shield Charm around me. I was on the ground when everything happened, but the Shield Charm saved my life. D'you know if Gryffindor won?" He said the latter in an attempt to ease the tension, but Rose took it the wrong way.

"Your friends are injured," she rasped, propping herself up on her bed. She looked sadly at Roxanne Weasley, Albus and the Rapiers. "_Really _injured. All of your friends are hurt. And all you care about is Quidditch."

Scorpius felt the need to argue with her, but he was tired, and he wanted his friend back. He had to accept that him and Rose would never see eye-to-eye, but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends. "Look," he said. "Carmel, Fergie and Katie told me what happened. I'm sorry, okay? You know how hard it is for me to... apologize... like this, so I'm hoping it's sincere."

"You're too proud," There was a flicker of a smile crossing Rose's face. It wasn't a mean accusation, but an amused one. Like she was laughing at Scorpius's personality. "That's why you can never be wrong, Scorpius. Well, you can never be wrong in y_our_ mind, at least. And me, I know I'm right because of logic and books. That's why we argue," She paused, closing her eyes. Rose looked like she was in pain. "But I guess I have to accept that we'll always argue about things. I forgive you."

Scorpius beamed happily. A shadow of doubt crossed his face when he saw Rose's condition. "What happened to you?" He asked, wisely deciding to not bring up Meath in the conversation. "If you were at the Quidditch stadium, you would've had burns or something. And you definitely wouldn't be awake... did you trip down the stairs or something?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I was trying to save _you__, _actually, Scorpius. A few weeks ago, I overheard a fifth-year named Alec Meath, he's a Slytherin, talking to one of his friends in the library about a plan to explode the Quidditch stadium at the Championship. He was saying how perfect it was, because the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams were full of blood-traitors and Muggle-borns. And then, his friend said 'What about the Malfoy kid?' and Meath replied with, 'Oh, he's going to be the only one to die. I'll make sure of that.' A-and..." Her gaze faltered, she looked upset. "I-I was scared. I wanted to tell you. I ran away, but you were busy or something. I forgot about it; I never thought he would _actually _t-try to explode the Quidditch pitch..."

She gulped. It took a moment before she was able to continue. "B-but on my way to the game, I saw him with a group of his friends. I-I told him that I'd tell P-Professor Longbottom if he tried to explode the Quidditch pitch. A-and then he did this a-awful spell where he spoke only in m-my head, b-but it wasn't possession... he said, 'tell, and I'll slaughter your friends. I'll make sure your mother dies.' A-and then, pictures of a-all of you guys... _d-dead_... flashed through my mind. It was awful! I fainted and I woke up here."

"Okay," Scorpius whispered after a moment. "I lied to you. My broom didn't conjure the Shield Charm, Meath did. He confronted me on the train a week ago, and he warned me about going to the match. I-I didn't believe him. So after everything happened, he threw me into the woods and warned me that if I uttered a word to anyone, h-he would kill everyone that's important to me and frame it on my father and me." Scorpius shook his head sadly. "It's too easy, see - the Malfoys aren't quite popular. It would be expected if a Malfoy was to murder a Potter or a Weasley. No one would q-question it..."

"Oh, Scorpius," Rose looked at him with pitying eyes. Usually, Scorpius would have been angry, he hated when people saw him as weak, but because of the circumstances he chose to ignore it. "He's awful, that Meath kid... and we can't do anything about him, or else he'll get his father to kill our families... I don't want to risk it, even if we _do _tell someone... w-we can't do anything..."

"Oh, yes we can," A grin began to form on Scorpius's tired face. "We're the top two in our year, Rose. Slytherin blood runs through my veins. Any Slytherin could dig up blackmail on the Prime Minister if they wanted to. How hard will it be to expose Alec Meath, a fifteen-year-old Slytherin?"

* * *

_Dearest Scorpius..._

_I am excited that you are curious about the Agnos Movement... if you prove yourself worthy, you could be a key player in one of our Quests. However, you understand that I have my suspicions about you. After you defied me in your Malfoy Mansion, I was frankly embarrassed to be related to you. You must prove your worth to me if you would like to join the Movement. A sort of right-of-passage... _

_Mr. Potter is assigned the task of hunting me down. The idiotic Muggle-born-run Department of Magical Law Enforcement is attempting to track my every move. I have heard many things about Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley, but I think that you will be able to provide me with more information about her. I would like her parentage, job hours, house address, details of her wand and some information of her personal life so that I know when and how to strike._

_Just so you know that I will hold up my end of the bargain, I will provide you with a bit of a 'summary' of the Movement. The Agnos are known by the circle-with-a-cross symbol that you have surely seen in the papers (we're quite famous now!). This symbol is a symbol of purity. It's really the Celtic symbol of purity, but we adopted it. The Agnos are aiming to create a pure Wizarding World without the influence of Muggle-borns. We're trying to remove all Muggle-borns from power at the moment. _

_We will not succumb to such evil as the Dark Lord, but we would like the Muggle-borns to learn their place in Wizarding society. As for the item you're inquiring about, that is top-secret information. I will tell you all about it if you give me some information on Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley! I know you're friends with her nephew, Albus, and her daughter, Rose, so I trust that this information will not be hard to find._

_I hope that you are further enticed by the Agnos Movement and that you will use your new-found friendships (the Potters and the Weasleys) for the greater good in which the Agnos Movement is striving to attain. _

_Signed, _

_Lucius_

Scorpius read over the letter about three times, the crease in his eyebrows deepening as he licked his lips in concentration. Information on Hermione? Hmm... Scorpius feared that he would be endangering Hermione if he sent Lucius such information, but then he realized that he could also fake the information. He didn't want to put Rose and her family in danger, after all.

Glancing around his dormitory to make sure no one was there, Scorpius pulled a quill out of his pocket and racked his brains for any information that Rose, Albus or the Rapiers might have said about Hermione. Scorpius chose to not mention Meath or the attack on Hogwarts in his letter; he figured that Lucius would ask him about it, anyway. Sighing, Scorpius began his letter.

_Lucius - _

_I am very interested about the Agnos Movement now. After many days of thought, I have come to realize that purebloods should indeed be on top. It's not fair that Muggle-borns, who are new and know nothing about our society, think that they can come into our world and be accepted with open arms. Us pureblood families deserve to be on top. The Muggle-borns should be on the bottom of society in my opinion. However, I still respect the Potters and the Weasleys, but I will give you all of the information I was able to figure out on Mrs. Granger-Weasley._

_Her parents are Muggles, as you know. Apparently they fix Muggles' teeth. Their names are Dr. Hubert Granger and Dr. Jean Granger. I'm not quite sure where they live, but I'm positive that they reside on the outskirts of London. Mrs. Granger-Weasley is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and her hours are from nine o'clock to five o'clock (those are the times that she has left and entered the Weasley house when I have been there). However, I know that because she is Head of the Department, these hours can vary depending on what she is up to._

_Rose Weasley told me that her family lives somewhere near Exeter, Devon. Although I was not able to find the true address, I know that they live in a very big house in the suburb areas of the city. I heard Hermione remark about her wand once. It looks about eleven inches, and I'm positive it has a dragon heartstring. I wasn't able to find out the wood (Rose and my other friends were highly suspicious), but I hope the information I gave you was sufficient._

_I don't know too much about Hermione's personal life, except that she is extremely smart and she was the first in her year at Hogwarts. Also, she's very logical. She is especially close to Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley (her husband) and George Weasley. I also saw her talking to my dad once, and they looked civil towards each other._

_That's everything I was able to find out. I hope that's enough. Again, I am very curious about the Agnos and would be willing to help with the Quest in any way I can._

_Scorpius_

Scorpius reread his letter about five times, hoping that he convinced Lucius enough. Scorpius had actually lied to Lucius about where Rose's family lived; they did live in Devon, but not in Exeter. They lived near the city of Exmouth in East Devon. He figured that it would be an easy mistake to mix up Exeter and Exmouth, so if he was caught in his lie, Lucius wouldn't be _too _mad at him.

Scorpius folded up the letter and attached it to Apollo. Apollo flew out of Scorpius's dorm with an excited 'hoot!'. Scorpius gazed at his pretty, Great Gray owl for a moment, and then stood up from his study. It was only a day after the Quidditch incident, and the school was still in absolute chaos. Security was immensely increased at Hogwarts, and all writings of the Agnos symbol was banned. Most of the kids in the Hospital Wing were cured immediately because their only injuries were burns, but the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams still remained injured and in the Hospital Wing.

Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, but no one had celebrated because the team was still injured. The team still wasn't awake yet. Luckily, Rose was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing, and she had been Scorpius's constant companion for the past day and a half. Scorpius entered the Common Room and immediately felt everyone's eyes on him. They were narrowed and they looked suspicious. Scorpius felt an awful drop in his stomach. He had been receiving these types of looks for the past few days, and he knew why.

Everyone in the school thought that Scorpius was behind the attacks. Even the Gryffindors. Professor Longbottom was forced to ask Scorpius about the Quidditch explosions, but Scorpius told Professor Longbottom he had nothing to do with it. Draco's old punchbag had believed Scorpius, even when Scorpius lied about his Firebolt V saving him from the fires. However, the other teachers weren't convinced as easily.

Because of the recent events, classes were cancelled until the next week. Everyone needed time to recover from the Quidditch incident and to study for their upcoming exams. Scorpius kind of wished that classes would continue, because he didn't want the teachers to cram in work for the last few weeks of classes. The young Malfoy began to walk towards the portrait hole. He wanted to check if his teammates were awake yet.

Before he exited, he heard someone call his name. Glancing back, he saw Rose rushing towards him, looking anxious. "You're going to go visit them?" She asked, stepping in front of him to leave the portrait hole. Raising his eyebrows coolly, Scorpius nodded. Rose, who was faced ahead, didn't see his response but assumed that Scorpius was headed towards the Hospital Wing.

"Did you find out anything?" she asked briskly as she fast-walked down the Gryffindor corridor and towards the Hospital Wing.

Scorpius caught up to her, surprised at her pace. "Yeah, actually, a little bit," he said smugly. "Meath's dad is the Head of Department of Magical Equipment Control. That's why Meath said he was such a high-ranking official. That's all I've really been able to get, but with this information I'm sure I could find something on his dad... have you found out anything?"

"Yes," Rose said quickly. Scorpius knew that she was itching to tell him what she had figured out. "Meath's mother is dead. She was a Muggle-born, and died in childbirth apparently. That's strange, because wizards are so advanced that dying during childbirth rarely happens... anyway, Meath's father immediately remarried a pureblood woman who raised Meath. She was basically his mother."

"And Meath knows that his mother's a Muggle-born?" Scorpius asked, surprised. "He hates Muggle-borns, half-bloods and blood-traitors. Funny how he's a half-blood, his mother's a Muggle-born and his father's a blood-traitor for marrying a Muggle-born! Strange how that works out."

"You're missing the point," Rose rolled her eyes at Scorpius. "Of course Meath knows that his mother was Muggle-born, but do you really think someone like him would share that sort of information? I had to do a lot of digging in my mother's files when she arrived to visit me to get this sort of information; not everyone knows this. Don't you think it's strange how right when Meath's mother, a Muggle-born, bore a child and died, Meath's father, a pureblood, immediately remarried a pureblood?"

Scorpius let this information sink in for a moment. And then, a light popped above his head. "Oh!" he exclaimed in recognition. Rose glared at him; he had been too loud. Keeping his voice to a whisper, Scorpius attempted to explain Rose's train of thought. "So you think that Meath's father might have something to do with the death of his first wife?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Rose muttered grimly as they reached the Hospital Wing corridor. "So, if we could find some amount of proof that he was involved with her death, we'd be able to expose him and send him to Azkaban. And then, Meath would be able to stop threatening us and we'd be one step closer to figuring this whole symbol out."

Luckily, they had reached the Hospital Wing door by then so Scorpius wasn't obligated to tell Rose that he in fact _did _know what the symbol meant. If he confided in Rose, then she would probably argue with him again, and Scorpius really didn't want that. There was also a small voice in his head telling him that Rose wouldn't believe that Scorpius had good intentions if Scorpius told her that he was double-crossing his grandfather.

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed as her and Scorpius walked into the right room. All of the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were awake except for Beckham Boot, who had sustained the worst injuries. The Ravenclaws were being treated by Madame Pomfrey. Scorpius glanced to his left and saw that the Gryffindors' burns had disappeared and his team seemed alright.

"Scorpius!" rasped Oaks as Scorpius entered the room. "You're not hurt!"

"My broom," grinned Scorpius sadly, feeling awful that he had to lie to his team Captain. Rose shot him a confused glance, but Scorpius chose to ignore it. "It conjured a Shield Charm around me when it sensed the explosions. If it wasn't for my broom, I definitely would've been dead. The Bludgers almost hit me at that point." He glanced around the room; everyone, even the Ravenclaws, were eyeing him sharply. "So, uh, how are you guys?"

"Alright," James answered this time. He was propped on his bed, eating some of the Honeydukes candy that the Gryffindor House had given to their injured Quidditch players. "When I woke up, everything hurt because of the burns, but Madame Pomfrey fixed those up. I'm a little sore from that thirty-foot fall I had when the explosions went off."

"We all are," Jane said wearily. "At least none of us are badly injured. I hope that Madame Pomfrey will be able to fix up poor Beckham Boot, he was flying right over one of the explosions. His burns look really bad." Scorpius looked over to the Ravenclaw side, where Madame Pomfrey and Roxanne Weasley were bending over a motionless Beckham Boot. Narrowing his eyes, Scorpius began to stride over to the Ravenclaw Captain.

"Roxanne?" he asked politely. She turned and looked at him. Guilt flashed in her eyes. "Can I talk to you?" Both Quidditch teams were looking at Roxanne and Scorpius with interest. Roxanne nodded and began to stagger towards the corner of the room, where no one would hear them, but Scorpius stopped her. "I think we should have this conversation in front of everyone," he growled.

Roxanne's nostrils flared, but she didn't say a word. "What do you want, then? To gloat about your victory to me? I already know that my cousin caught the Snitch, and I don't really care. I still have two more years to win the Cup." Although her tone was defiant, Scorpius sensed a nervous tremor in her voice. Her blue eyes glimmered with fear.

"You did it," Scorpius said simply. "Admit it to this whole room, Roxanne."

"What - what are you talking about?" hissed Roxanne in an awful attempt to look innocent.

"Do you want me to tell them, or you?" Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"You - you!" Roxanne's mouth was quivering. "Alright, fine! I did it, everyone! My team already knows, but yes, I set the Bludgers on Scorpius. Who cares?" There were snarls and gasps of disbelief from the Gryffindor side of the room. Madame Pomfrey kept a neutral but surprised expression while Roxanne's cousins looked mutinous.

"Why the _bloody hell_ would you try to kill Scorpius?" snarled Fred, his blue eyes wide as he looked at his sister with an awful expression of confusion. "Y-you really wouldn't be that competitive, would you, Roxanne? I-I knew you were competitive, but trying to kill someone is not just putting a toe on the line, it's completely jumping over and stomping on the line!"

"I didn't try to kill him!" Roxanne defended herself, her blue eyes blazing. "I knew he would be able to outfly the Bludgers. It's just so unfair that he has a stupid Firebolt V. It's the only reason why Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup! Everyone knows it, even the Gryffindors, and I had to stop it! The Firebolt V just wasn't fair to us! You all saw what happened after I got Scorpius out of the way; Ravenclaw was beginning to win! We were the rightful winners of the Cup. First-years aren't even _allowed _on the team." She spat the latter at a baffled-looking Albus and a furious Scorpius.

"Bewitching Bludgers is not playing fair, either," argued Jane Thomas. "Even if your plan did work and Albus never caught the Snitch, someone would've figured out, anyway, and Ravenclaw would have been disqualified and Gryffindor would've won the Quidditch Cup."

"Don't even pretend you didn't try to kill one of my players, either," Oaks rose from his bed, his broad-shoulders squaring as he stood behind Scorpius. Madame Pomfrey let out a yelp and told Oaks to get back to his bed at once, but Oaks didn't listen. Scorpius saw Roxanne's eyes widen as she looked at the hulking figure of Oaks. "I saw what happened when James and Fred tried to hit the Bludgers. They multiplied! Not only did you try to kill Scorpius, but your own _relatives_ - "

" - don't you dare accuse me of trying to kill my own brother!" growled Roxanne, her gaze livid as she stared at Oaks. "I _didn't _try to kill anyone! I just wanted a diversion, I knew that Scorpius's broom would be able to outfly the Bludgers!"

"You did try to kill everyone!" Albus hissed from his hospital bed. "Don't tell me it was you who set off the explosions, too?"

"Don't be so dim-witted," Roxanne rolled her eyes in exasperation. "If I set off the explosions, I would have made sure my teammates, my family and I wouldn't be harmed. You want to know who set off the explosions?" To Scorpius's dismay, her eyes turned towards him. "It was you, Scorpius! You're the one who did it. You weren't harmed at all!"

This time, Rose spoke. She sprinted over to Scorpius and stood in front of him, crossing her arms at Roxanne. Scorpius had never seen Rose look so defiant and fierce before. "You're pathetic for accusing him!" Rose practically yelled at Roxanne. "Why would Scorpius ever try to harm his friends and teammates? He's not like that!"

"His family is," Roxanne snorted.

"Hold on," Scorpius said, standing next to Rose. "Roxanne, only a few months ago you told me that you understood me. You said that you felt bad because of how prejudiced I was. And you're judging me right now! You're acting so hypocritical it's making me sick."

"You're spying," spat Roxanne. Scorpius's mouth went dry as she continued to elaborate. "Dominique, Molly and Lucy told me their suspicions about you awhile ago, but I didn't listen. Funny how right when your family becomes buddies with ours, all of the killings start. Your grandfather's linked with all of them, Scorpius. How are we supposed to know if you're actually our friend, or a spy?"

Scorpius was speechless. He wasn't _really _spying on the Weasleys and the Potters; he was sending fake information to his grandfather so that he could receive information on the Agnos Movement. However, Scorpius wasn't ready to admit that, and knew that Roxanne wouldn't believe him if he confided in everyone. Before he could speak, Rose confronted her cousin again.

"What evidence do you have that Scorpius is a spy?" Rose said. Roxanne was silent. "Exactly. You have none. And you know what, Roxanne? No one in the family even _likes _Dominique, Molly or Lucy. Even you told me so once! I don't know why you're listening to those idiots anymore. If Uncle Harry, Aunt Hermione, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron and Uncle George are able to trust the Malfoys, I think that we should, too."

Roxanne's lip quivered again. There seemed to be doubt in her expression, and Scorpius sensed that Roxanne wanted to apologize. However, Roxanne was much too proud to admit that she was wrong in front of so many people. "Whatever," she growled after awhile, retreating to her spot beside Beckham Boot. Her teammates and the Gryffindor team was watching her with shock. "Whatever. I don't care."

"It's just weird," whispered Louis sadly from the other side of the room. "How wrong you can be about someone."

* * *

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams were both released from the Hospital Wing in two days. However, Beckham Boot would not be able to leave Madame Pomfrey's care for awhile. He had woken up, but his burns were proving extremely difficult to remove. News of Roxanne's treachery had spread across the school. The Slytherins applauded her, while the Ravenclaws were completely indifferent. The Hufflepuffs, however, valuing fair play, were extremely against Roxanne's actions and sided with the furious Gryffindors. Because of protest from both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw was completely disqualified from the Cup and were in last place. Slytherin moved to second place while Hufflepuff moved to third.

Ravenclaw also lost two-hundred points, putting them in last place for the House Cup. Now, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were practically neck-to-neck. Although the Hufflepuffs had sided with Gryffindor to take down Ravenclaw in the Quidditch Cup, they were becoming increasingly hostile as the days of April came to an end. Surprisingly, the Ravenclaws were supporting Gryffindor to win, while the Slytherin House was against anything Gryffindor and sided with Hufflepuff.

Finally, about a week after he sent his letter to Lucius, Apollo had returned. Scorpius had seen his owl fluttering about the school and knew that Apollo had brought back his letter. After a long but interesting Transfiguration class, Scorpius was practically skipping up to his dormitory. He assumed that he would be the first to arrive, but when he entered his dormitory he saw Albus crouched on his bed, reading a letter.

Scorpius made his way over to his bed, looking for Lucius's letter. However, before he got there, Albus stopped him. "Scorpius," Albus rasped, holding up the letter. Albus looked confused and very hurt. "W-what is this? It was on my bed, s-so I thought it was for me..." Scorpius grabbed the letter from Albus, a sick feeling rising in his stomach. Albus continued. "I-you're not really passing on information about my family to your grandfather, are you? I-I can't believe you're a s-spy..."

"I'm not," Scorpius promised, tucking the letter in his robe pocket. "Look, I'll explain everything to you and Rose right now, but it has to be somewhere where no one can hear us. How about we go find her, and I'll tell you everything. Promise?"

Albus nodded, but he looked uncertain. Scorpius grabbed his arm and sprinted down the dorm stairs. Rose was usually always asking Professor Black questions at the end of Transfiguration class, so he could probably catch her...

Ah! There she was. Rose had just entered the Common Room. She was talking animatedly to Fergie Finnegan about some new set of robes that had just come out. Scorpius let go of Albus and took Rose's arm and began to drag her out of the Common Room. Fergie looked at Scorpius with her eyes wide open as Rose started to struggle. "Hey!" she gasped, clutching her books. "I need to put my books away!"

Scorpius took them and tossed them to a baffled-looking Fergie Finnegan. "You can put them back?" he asked. Fergie nodded immediately and bolted up the stairs. Scorpius was used to this whole Scorpius-Malfoy-is-out-to-kill-me-because-I'm-not- a-pureblood act by now. He turned to a surprised Rose and added, "It's important." She gave up struggling and followed Albus and Scorpius towards the Room of Requirement.

About ten minutes later, they were sitting on one of the three plush chairs that were provided for them in the Room of Requirement. There was a nice, wooden table in the middle of the chairs that Scorpius placed his letter upon. Quickly, while his best friends were watching him nervously, Scorpius scanned through the letter that Lucius had written him.

_Dear Scorpius, _

_Thank you very much for the information you wrote me about Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley. I feel as if you have somewhat proven your worth (although there is much more for you to prove to me!) and thus, I will disclose some information about the Quest. However, I cannot tell you the locations where we think the item might be, obviously, because you have yet to _truly _prove to me that you're on my side._

_As you know, the Agnos Movement is geared towards promoting pureblood supremacy internationally. Most of the governments except for the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia are already being lead by Agnos representatives. The four countries I just mentioned are increasingly hard to convince because the UK is still vulnerable after Voldemort's reign, and the other three have grown accustomed to Muggle-borns due to their melting pot culture._

_Anyway, there is a certain item that the Agnos are seeking. Let's call it the Pebble. The Pebble has the ability to take away a witch or wizard's powers and store them somewhere else. We would like the Pebble because it would allow us to take away power from people that don't deserve it (Muggle-borns). Also, there is the possibility that the Pebble can transfer wizarding powers to another individual. This means that a wizard could become two, three, four times as powerful as they once were! Of course, only the top purebloods would be receiving this sort of honor. _

_The Pebble is believed to be left at a select school around the world by Mr. Pembrook Lapidas. Mr. Lapidas was an incredible scholar in the fifteenth century that created the Pebble. Fearing its power, he hid it at one of the greatest Wizarding schools around the world (The Salem Witches Institute in America, the Durmstrang Institute in Eastern Europe, the Australian Academy of Sorcery and the Beauxbatons Academy in France). The Agnos have searched in all of the schools (except for one!) and were unsuccessful in finding the Pebble. As you might have guessed by now, the Pebble is hidden at Hogwarts. We have locations where we think it might be, but I cannot disclose that information to you yet. _

_Right now, the only information I need is on two of Mr. Potter's best Aurors, Seamus Finnegan and Ernie Macmillan. I want personal information, familial information and anything else you think is important._

_Lucius_

When Scorpius had finished reading the letter, he glanced up and saw Albus staring at him rigidly while Rose was looking confused. As Scorpius put the letter back on the table, her eyes ran over the neat, thin writing. Her pupils widened when she saw the signature. Rose looked up at Scorpius, her lip quivering. "You haven't," she said. "You haven't been spying on us this whole time."

"You're right," Scorpius said levelly, being very careful not to lose his temper. He was a little upset that his friends were so quick to doubt him. Sure, the letter made it seem like Scorpius had been spying on the Weasleys, but it still hurt a little when he realized that Albus was a little suspicious of him. "Look, I lied to you both, alright? So just give me five minutes and I'll tell you everything."

His friends glanced at each other and nodded. Scorpius began his story.

"I met a fifth-year Slytherin named Alec Meath on the Hogwarts Express," Scorpius started. "He told me to stay away from the Quidditch Championship game. I asked him why, and he said the Agnos would make a diversion. And he said something about a Quest. So I asked him about it, and he told me to write my grandfather. The 'diversion' sounded life-threatening, so I was curious. I wrote my grandfather and told him I'd send him everything I knew about your families in return for information about his Movement."

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but Scorpius continued. "He was obviously suspicious about me, but he gave me some background information on the Agnos. It's basically a pureblood-supremacist movement. It's not like Voldemort, because instead of killing people, they want to take away Muggle-born's powers. I'll get back to that later. Anyway, he asked for information on your mom, Rose. So I told him a little bit of the truth, like her wand type and her parents, and some lies, like where she lived and her personal life. He believed me. He sent me this letter," Scorpius waved the letter. "And he told me about a Quest to find a Pebble at Hogwarts that has the ability to take away and store wizarding powers. And he's asking for more information."

"And you're going to _give _information to him?" Rose asked, looking confused. "Scorpius, this is ridiculous. Why are you even writing to this idiot? More importantly, why are you giving out our information?"

"I'm not!" Scorpius said indignantly, remembering that he forgot to say the key piece in his plan. "I'm only writing him for more information on the Agnos Movement so I can take him down! If I give him information, he'll tell me more about what he's up to! Then, I can finally get my revenge on him. I've been waiting months to get back at him, Rose, you have to believe that I'm not _actually _spying on you guys! I just thought that if I became his confidant, I could help destroy this ridiculous revolution!"

"Hold on," Albus said, narrowing his eyes with thought. "In the letter, Lucius said my dad had the job of tracking him down. You might be able to help, Scorpius!"

"What are you talking about?" Rose sniffed. "He can't help the Aurors if that's what you're talking about, he's only eleven years old."

"No, he can!" Albus's eyes became wide as his head exploded with an idea. "Scorpius, you have to tell my dad about this! My dad could actually help you! If you continue to give Lucius true information, he'll send you more information about his whereabouts. This is just the thing that the Aurors need to take Lucius down and stop this madness! Scorpius would basically be a spy for the Aurors."

"I'm not writing to your dad," Scorpius said stubbornly. "He'll be suspicious about my intentions. He already hates my father, if he knew that I was sending information, fake or not, he'd arrest us."

"You don't have to write him," Albus said thoughtfully, his eyebrows raising. "He's going to be at school tomorrow for the extra-security-precaution-whatever meeting. He wanted to talk to me about the Quidditch game, and I'll bring you along, too. You've already risked your neck spying on a dangerous Dark wizard, and you'll have the Aurors' protection on your side if things get sticky. What do you think?"

Scorpius closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Albus was right, if Scorpius was to talk to Mr. Potter, it would be much better than Mr. Potter finding out from Lucius. And plus, Scorpius would have the Aurors' protection on his side. Maybe if he proved his worth, people would stop suspecting him and respect him a little bit. But if Lucius found out, Scorpius would be in incredible danger. The pros outweighed the cons, though...

He blinked open his gray eyes. "I'll do it," he said bravely.

* * *

I think I'll either go with HarryPadfootLupin's idea or just write all seven books. I'm always open to suggestions so let me know your ideas! x


	23. T W E N T Y T W O

**Chapter Twenty Two: Light and Dark**

Scorpius woke up the next morning feeling very light-headed. Yawning, he stretched and rolled out of his bed. Albus was throwing on his robes, giving Scorpius an encouraging nod. Scorpius smiled weakly at his friend and glanced at the clock above Flynn Finnegan's bed. It was nine thirty. Scorpius licked his lips in anticipation and strode over to his trunk, where he slipped on his robes. A moment later, Albus approached him.

"Ready?" he asked.

Scorpius nodded and felt for the scraps of parchment in his robes. He felt Lucius's letters and creased his eyebrows. "Yeah," he mumbled, following Albus out of their dorm room. Scorpius glanced behind him and saw Everett's wide, scared eye watching him as he departed. Scorpius stifled a sigh. He just wanted his old friends, like Everett and Harrison, to look at him normally again. Even Beckett Fitzroy, who Scorpius used to be best friends with, had practically run away the other day when Scorpius walked past him in the corridors.

The two friends met up with a grim-looking Rose in the Common Room and departed towards Professor Longbottom's study. Because Professor Longbottom was the Head of Gryffindor House, his study was located behind a portrait across from the Fat Lady. The portrait was a forest painting with jaguars slouching through it. Rose glanced at the two boys, who didn't know Professor Longbottom's password, and stepped forward.

"_Cor leonis_," she said clearly. The jaguar let out a purr and the portrait swung open. The trio was greeted by a big, wooden door. Furrowing his brow in concentration, Scorpius stepped in front of his friends and opened the large door. The trio walked into the beautiful, burnt-red room. Scorpius glanced around the room in awe. It had portraits of brave and noble wizards and witches doing incredible deeds. The burnt-red wallpaper was accented with a pretty golden trim. The desk in the room was of beautiful oak, and the chairs were white with golden accents.

"Dad!" Scorpius looked to his left and saw Albus run over to his father and greet him happily. Mr. Potter looked grave, but gave his son a smile as he hugged him. Scorpius felt a pang of surprise when he saw father and son standing next to each other; they looked scarily similar. There was a tremor of footsteps to his right and Scorpius glanced at Rose as she hugged her uncle.

"How're you guys doing?" Mr. Potter caught up with his son and niece while Scorpius hung back uncomfortably, wearing the expression of a guilty child. Scorpius turned his gaze towards the corner of the room, where Professor Longbottom was sitting on a white-and-gold couch. Next to him was Hermione Granger-Weasley, looking at Scorpius with interest. Scorpius felt a feeling of guilt stabbing him in the stomach; he looked away, fearing the intimidating woman's sharp gaze.

"Scorpius?" Scorpius lifted his gaze from the ground and looked up to the face of Harry Potter. The Auror was extending his hand. Scorpius creased his eyebrows and shook it, looking Mr. Potter in the eye. Green eyes met gray, and Mr. Potter was the first to glance away. He looked over at Professor Longbottom and Hermione; the former was wearing an uncomfortable expression. Mr. Potter continued. "Nice to see that you're well, Scorpius. Please sit - "

" - Sir, I didn't set off the explosions," Scorpius said immediately, frowning. Mr. Potter surely meant something deeper than 'nice to see that you're well', right? Was that comment a jab at the fact that Scorpius was the only player on the field that had survived untouched? At Mr. Potter's confused expression, Scorpius's guilty expression deepened. "Sorry," he mumbled, taking a seat and locking his fingers together, "It's just that everyone thinks I did it, and I thought you were accusing me."

"Everyone's accusing you...?" Mr. Potter said, sitting down. He leaned forward, clearly inviting Scorpius to elaborate.

"I was the only Quidditch player who got out without being knocked out and I didn't have any burns, either," explained Scorpius. "All of the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors were injured, and because that symbol is linked to my grandfather, everyone thinks that I'm the one that exploded the Quidditch pitch. I'm really sorry, sir, I just assumed you thought I did it like everyone else."

To Scorpius's relief, Mr. Potter didn't press him on how Scorpius had survived the explosions. Instead, he asked a completely different question. "These kids," he started, "Well, let me reword that. How is everyone acting towards you at the moment? Including the Slytherin House?"

Scorpius began to curl his lip in defiance. So Mr. Potter _did _think that Scorpius was in league with his grandfather. "Basically no half-bloods and Muggle-borns will talk to me," he growled. "Everyone runs away from me. The only people that still talk to me are James, Fred, Louis, Rose, Flynn Finnegan and Albus. The Slytherins hate me, but they warned me before the attacks. They told me to stay away from the Quidditch match, but I didn't listen - "

" - Hold on, which Slytherin told you this?" Mr. Potter asked. "I might be able to find out who orchestrated the attacks."

"I can't tell you," Scorpius said levelly. "He's blackmailing me. If I could tell you, I would."

"Scorpius, I'm Head of the Auror Office," Mr. Potter began. "If he's blackmailing you - "

" - he's blackmailing me, too," Rose interrupted. "Uncle Harry, this guy is serious. Scorpius would tell you if he could - "

" - but Scorpius has something better to tell you than who blew up the Quidditch stadium," Albus said eagerly. "Go on, Scorpius, tell him."

"Tell me what?" Mr. Potter asked, his brow raised.

Scorpius bit his lip with anticipation and fished in his pockets for the letters he received from Lucius. He held them in his hands, looking Mr. Potter straight in the eye. "I know who's behind all of the attacks on the Muggles and the Quidditch stadium. I know the group, and I'm figuring all I can about them," Scorpius paused, sighing. "But there's a catch. I'm exchanging information, see. He gives me information on his plans, I give him information on the Potters and the Weasleys."

"So, you've been spying on us?" Mr. Potter looked stunned. "I - "

" - Yeah, you're so quick to doubt me," Scorpius curled his lip angrily. "I'm giving him some true information, some fake information. Nothing that will threaten any of you. But, in these letters, I have everything you need to know about who's been behind the Muggle-born killings and the strange events that have been going on recently."

"Who's the he?" Mr. Potter was leaning forward in his seat.

Scorpius grinned smugly. Raising his eyebrows, the young Malfoy tossed his letters onto the table. Mr. Potter picked them up and looked carefully at the signature. His eyes widened and he looked up at Scorpius, his eyes wide. "You?" he rasped, scanning through the letters. "You managed to convince him? It's your fault that he was thrown in Azkaban...?"

"Who?" Hermione spoke for the first time, looking intently at her friend. "Who's been writing to him?"

"Lucius..." Mr. Potter read through the letters. "Lucius Malfoy. And Scorpius gave him information on you, Hermione - "

" - _What?_" Hermione's eyes blazed at Scorpius.

"You're so quick to doubt me, yet again!" Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'd _really _threaten your lives after everything you've done for me? No. He asked me for information on you, Mrs. Weasley, but I faked most of it. He was testing me, anyway. That's how I got information on the Quest that the Agnos Movement is orchestrating."

Hermione looked guilty, while Mr. Potter looked incredibly amazed. He passed one letter to Professor Longbottom, and the other to Mrs. Granger-Weasley. Mr. Potter glanced over to Rose and Albus, who were either looking at their laps or the ceiling. "And you two have been in this plan all along?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"No," Albus admitted, giving Scorpius a nervous glance. He looked like a child that had just been caught stealing a cookie from the pantry. "Scorpius's owl delivered Lucius's most recent on his bed, but the wind knocked it over to my bed. So when I came in the room, I thought it was mine. I opened it to see who it was from, and I read it. I was confused, so I confronted Scorpius and he told Rose and I."

Mr. Potter nodded, squinting his eyes. "So he wants information on Seamus and Ernie, then? I can give him everything he needs. Here, Scorpius, I'll write it down - "

" - Wait a moment," Scorpius interrupted him, surprised. "Why are you sending him real information on your colleagues? They could be hurt. You're not saying - "

" - That I'm supporting what you're doing?" Mr. Potter smiled as he pulled out a quill and began to scribble down bullet points on a spare bit of parchment. "The answer's yes, I am. I think it's brilliant. Of course, I'm not going to tell you any information that will endanger Seamus and Ernie, but just enough that he'll pass on more information to you. I agree with you, Scorpius, if you prove yourself, you'll become his confidant and we'll be one step closer to destroying this Agnos Movement."

"My grandfather said it was international," Scorpius said hesitantly. "Even if we stop Lucius in the United Kingdom, the Movement is still spreading around the world."

"Exactly," Mr. Potter tipped his quill at Scorpius. "Lucius knows all about what's going on internationally, and he'll be more than happy to tell you as long as you keep passing him information."

"This is dangerous," Hermione finally blurted, looking at Harry with her eyes wide. "Harry, Scorpius is only an eleven-year-old boy. This is like Albus spying for an enemy! What if Scorpius is caught, Harry? He'll be brutally tortured, captured, and even murdered. Personally, I think you're putting too much responsibilities on such a young boy."

"He'll have the Aurors' full protection," Harry responded, continuing to write down information. "We've already assigned guards to the school, and I'll see to placing an Auror that will watch Scorpius and Albus and Rose when they're in and out of the castle - "

" - I don't need a bodyguard, sir - " Scorpius began to say, but Harry cut him off.

" - Not a bodyguard, Scorpius, just someone who is assigned to looking out for my family and our friends," Mr. Potter replied with a stern glance at Scorpius. Scorpius lifted his chin in defiance, but Mr. Potter ignored this. "Anyway, we'll know if Lucius starts to become suspicious. Scorpius only needs to send me an owl and I'll handle the situation immediately."

"How am I supposed to know when he's written me enough information?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"He'll give you a plan," Harry responded grimly, "A plan to kill or hurt one of us."

* * *

And Lucius did just that. After Scorpius sent Lucius everything that Mr. Potter had told him to write about Seamus Finnegan and Ernie Macmillan, Lucius responded with more information on the Quest and the Agnos Movement. Scorpius was elated until he read the bottom paragraph, which contained Lucius's final test on Scorpius. The test was to trap Mr. Potter and wait for an Agnos member to come and kill him.

_Scorpius,_

_I am elated that you listened and sent the information on Finnegan and Macmillan. Because of your loyalty to me, I will award you with some more information on the Movement..._

_Contrary to what I told you in my earlier letter, the Pebble was not _actually _created by Professor Lapidas, but by a man named Selmine Slytherin. Yes, this man was the second-oldest son of Salazar Slytherin, the leader of the Slytherin House. Professor Lapidas was a distant descendant of Selmine Slytherin, and Lapidas claimed to have created the Pebble. However, recent research has explained that Selmine did indeed create the Pebble._

_Selmine was always overshadowed by his older brother, Senebris. Senebris was a very talented wizard who was a Parselmouth, while Selmine was not. Salazar Slytherin, upset that he bore a son without the Parselmouth ability, basically shunned Selmine and focused all of his attention on Senebris. Although Senebris was a Parselmouth, he didn't possess powerful wizarding abilities like his father. Selmine inherited this trait, but Salazar Slytherin was much too busy with his older son to notice the smarter and more powerful Selmine._

_Because Senebris had mediocre powers, Selmine decided that if he wanted his father's praise, he had to create an object that would enable his father to rid of all Muggle-borns. It took many years of study and practice, but Selmine finally created the Pebble. He demonstrated its powers on Senebris. Senebris had his powers taken away and essentially turned into a Squib. Salazar, distraught at his younger son's actions and upset that Senebris had lost his noble powers, was found dead the next morning. _

_Selmine felt wretched that he contributed to his father's downfall and made use of the Pebble by passing it onto his oldest sons. This chain ended when Professor Lapidas took the Pebble for himself and hid it so that no one could use it for their own good. Although a noble action at one point, Lapidas dishonored his family and was abandoned by his brothers and cousins._

_Because of this link to Slytherin, we have deduced that the Pebble is located in a Slytherin area of Hogwarts, such as the Chamber of Secrets or the Slytherin Common Room. However, the Chamber of Secrets was destroyed in the Battle of Hogwarts, and the Slytherin Common Room has practically been turned upside down in our efforts to search for the Pebble..._

_If you wish to become an official Agnos, you only need to complete the task that I will explain now..._

_Harry Potter is in charge of tracking me down. It's very annoying; I have to flee from village to village every two days. Although he has evaded being killed for thirty-some years, I feel like it's time to finally dispose of him. When the Dark Lord was at power, he confided to me Harry Potter's greatest weakness: he loves playing the hero. So, since you're so close to his son, Albus Potter, this should really be no problem..._

_You're to tip to Harry Potter that the Agnos are attempting to break into Hogwarts the night of May 2nd, 2018. Say I told you. We'll be in the Forbidden Forest, hiding, but you must tell Harry Potter that we are at the Lake. Eventually, he'll make his way over to the Forest when he hears a cry of help from his son (we'll easily be able to produce a sound from our wands that sound like a child). We'll wait for awhile, making him nervous, and then capture him. _

_Are you willing to sacrifice your friendships for the greater good?_

_Lucius_

Scorpius glanced up from the letter. Albus was sitting across from him, his eyebrows raised. The trio was in the Room of Requirement. Scorpius licked his lips and turned his gaze to his right, where Rose was sitting. She looked concerned. They both leaned forward, as if to say, 'well?'. Sighing, Scorpius fished in his pocket for a mirror and placed it on the table. He gazed in it, waiting for the familiar green eye to flash at him.

Mr. Potter had given Scorpius a mirror which he could use to communicate with him. Mr. Potter had a matching one, and the two could easily converse with each other just by speaking to the mirror. Glancing up from the still mirror, Scorpius nodded to his friends. "Your dad was right," he said to Albus. "He told me too much, and he's making me carry out a plan that will put your father in danger."

"You're going to go through with it?" Albus murmured, his eyes wide with distress. "What if my dad's killed?"

"I - I don't know," Scorpius stammered, looking uncertain. "If I don't carry out the plan, Lucius will know that I was spying, and he'd kill me. But if I do carry out the plan, there's a chance that Mr. Potter might be killed. And if I mess around with the plan in any way and if Mr. Potter somehow escapes alive, Lucius will know what I was doing and kill me."

"This is such a mess," Rose whispered, covering her face with her hands.

"Scorpius?" A voice called from the mirror. Immediately, Scorpius jumped from his chair and grabbed the mirror. He found himself looking at the familiar, pale face of Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter nodded in greeting and was looking worried. "You called about something?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said, gripping the letter. He confided to Mr. Potter about everything that Lucius had told him. Mr. Potter looked a tad bit concerned, but not as worried as Scorpius would have liked him to look. Harry muttered something like, 'that makes a lot of sense,' and glanced back up at Scorpius. His expression was torn.

"Alright," he said. "Listen close, Scorpius, we're about to out-smart your grandfather!"

* * *

Sorry this chapter was really short. A really serious family issue popped up and I won't be able to have access to the internet now until December. I'm so, so upset about this because this story honestly means so much to me. Please don't forget about me, I promise that I'll come back in December! Again, I'm really thankful for you guys because you've been so loyal & kind this past month, and it breaks my heart that I have to leave this story for a bit because I've loved writing it. I'm so so so sorry you guys, but real life comes first I guess... I promise I'll be back in December. All the best... xx


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